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diff --git a/old/55118-0.txt b/old/55118-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index fbf10c7..0000000 --- a/old/55118-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,16635 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Porcelain, by Edward Dillon - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Porcelain - -Author: Edward Dillon - -Release Date: July 15, 2017 [EBook #55118] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PORCELAIN *** - - - - -Produced by Sonya Schermann, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - PORCELAIN - - [Illustration: _PLATE I._ JAPANESE IMARI WARE] - - - - - PORCELAIN - - BY - - EDWARD DILLON, M.A. - - [Illustration: The - Connoisseur’s - Library] - - METHUEN AND CO. - 36 ESSEX STREET - LONDON - - _First published in 1904._ - - - - -PREFACE - - -How extensive is the literature that has grown up of late years round -the subject of porcelain may be judged from the length of our ‘selected’ -list of books dealing with this material. Apart from the not -inconsiderable number of general works on the potter’s art in French, -German, and English, there is scarcely to be found a kiln where pottery -of one kind or another has been manufactured which has not been made the -subject of a separate study. And yet, as far as I know, the very -definite subdivision of ceramics, which includes the porcelain of the -Far East and of Europe, has never been made the basis of an independent -work in England. - -It has been the aim of the writer to dwell more especially on the nature -of the paste, on the glaze, and on the decoration of the various wares, -and above all to accentuate any points that throw light upon the -relations with one another--especially the historical relations--of the -different centres where porcelain has been made. Less attention has been -given to the question of marks. In the author’s opinion, the exaggerated -importance that has been given to these marks, both by collectors and by -the writers that have catered to them, has more than anything else -tended to degrade the study of the subject, and to turn off the -attention from more essential points. This has been above all the case -in England, where the technical side has been strangely neglected. In -fact, we must turn to French works for any thorough information on this -head. - -In the bibliographical list it has been impossible to distinguish the -relative value of the books included. I think that _something_ of value -may be found in nearly every one of these works, but in many, whatever -there is of original information might be summed up in a few pages. In -fact, the books really essential to the student are few in number. For -Oriental china we have the Franks catalogue, M. Vogt’s little book, _La -Porcelaine_, and above all the great work of Dr. Bushell, which is -unfortunately not very accessible. For Continental porcelain there is no -‘up-to-date’ work in English, but the brief notes in the catalogue -prepared shortly before his death by Sir A. W. Franks have the advantage -of being absolutely trustworthy. The best account of German porcelain is -perhaps to be found in Dr. Brinckmann’s bulky description of the Hamburg -Museum, which deals, however, with many subjects besides porcelain, -while for Sèvres we have the works of Garnier and Vogt. For English -porcelain the literature is enormous, but there is little of importance -that will not be found in Professor Church’s little handbook, or in the -lately published works of Mr. Burton and Mr. Solon. The last edition of -the guide to the collection lately at Jermyn Street has been well edited -by Mr. Rudler, and contains much information on the technical side of -the subject. On many historical points the notes in the last edition of -Marryat are still invaluable: the quotations, however, require checking, -and the original passages are often very difficult to unearth. - -In the course of this book I have touched upon several interesting -problems which it would be impossible to thoroughly discuss in a general -work of this kind. I take, however, the occasion of bringing one or two -of these points to the notice of future investigators. - -Much light remains to be thrown upon the relations of the Chinese with -the people of Western Asia during the Middle Ages. We want to know at -what time and under what influences the Chinese began to decorate their -porcelain, first with blue under the glaze, and afterwards by means of -glazes of three or more colours, painted on the biscuit. The relation of -this latter method of decoration to the true enamel-painting which -succeeded it is still obscure. So again, to come to a later time, there -is much difference of opinion as to the date of the first introduction -of the _rouge d’or_, a very important point in the history and -classification of Chinese porcelain. - -We are much in the dark as to the source of the porcelain exported both -from China and Japan in the seventeenth century, especially of the -roughly painted ‘blue and white,’ of which such vast quantities went to -India and Persia. So of the Japanese ‘Kakiyemon,’ which had so much -influence on our European wares, what was the origin of the curious -design, and what was the relation of this ware to the now better known -‘Old Japan’? - -When we come nearer home, to the European porcelain of the eighteenth -century, many obscure points still remain to be cleared up. The -currently accepted accounts of Böttger’s great discovery present many -difficulties. At Sèvres, why was the use of the newly discovered _rose -Pompadour_ so soon abandoned? And finally, in England, what were we -doing during the long years between the time of the early experiments of -Dr. Dwight and the great outburst of energy in the middle of the -eighteenth century? - -The illustrations have been chosen for the most part from specimens in -our national collections. I take this opportunity of thanking the -officials in charge of these collections for the facilities they have -given to me in the selection of the examples, and to the photographer in -the reproduction of the pieces selected. To Mr. C. H. Read of the -British Museum, and to Mr. Skinner of the Victoria and Albert Museum, my -thanks are above all due. To the latter gentleman I am much indebted for -the trouble he has taken, amid arduous official duties, in making -arrangements for photographing not only examples belonging to the -Museum, scattered as these are through various wide-lying departments, -but also several other pieces of porcelain at present deposited there by -private collectors. To these gentlemen, finally, my thanks are due for -permission to reproduce examples of their porcelain--to Mr. Pierpont -Morgan, to Mr. Fitzhenry, to Mr. David Currie, and above all to my -friend Mr. George Salting, who has interested himself in the selection -of the objects from his unrivalled collection. - -The small collection of marks at the end of the book has no claim to -originality. The examples have been selected from the catalogues of the -Schreiber collection at South Kensington, and from those of the Franks -collections of Oriental and Continental china. For permission to use the -blocks my thanks are due, as far as the first two books are concerned, -to H. M.’s Stationery Office and to the Education Department; in the -case of the last work, to Mr. C. H. Read, who, I understand, himself -drew the original marks for Sir A. W. Franks’s catalogue. - -In a general work of this kind much important matter has had to be -omitted. That is inevitable. I only hope that specialists in certain -definite parts of the wide field covered will not find that I have -committed myself to rash or ungrounded generalisations. Let them -remember that the carefully guarded statements and the reservations -suitable to a scientific paper would be out of place in a work intended -in the main for the general public. - -E. D. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -PREFACE, v - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, xii - -SELECTED LIST OF WORKS ON PORCELAIN, xxvi - -KEY TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST, xxxiii - -LIST OF WORKS ON OTHER SUBJECTS REFERRED -TO IN THE TEXT, xxxv - - -CHAPTER I. Introductory and Scientific, 1 - -CHAPTER II. The Materials: Mixing, Fashioning, -and Firing, 14 - -CHAPTER III. Glazes, 30 - -CHAPTER IV. Decoration by means of Colour, 38 - -CHAPTER V. The Porcelain of China. Introductory--Classification--The -Sung Dynasty--The Mongol or Yuan Dynasty, 49 - -CHAPTER VI. The Porcelain of China (_continued_). -The Ming Dynasty, 78 - -CHAPTER VII. The Porcelain of China (_continued_). -The Manchu or Tsing Dynasty, 96 - -CHAPTER VIII. The Porcelain of China (_continued_). -Marks, 117 - -CHAPTER IX. The Porcelain of China (_continued_). -King-te-chen and the Père D’Entrecolles, 123 - -CHAPTER X. The Porcelain of China (_continued_). -Forms and uses--Descriptions of the various -Wares, 137 - -CHAPTER XI. The Porcelain of Korea and of -the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, 168 - -CHAPTER XII. The Porcelain of Japan, 177 - -CHAPTER XIII. From East to West, 208 - -CHAPTER XIV. The First Attempts at Imitation -in Europe, 233 - -CHAPTER XV. The Hard-Paste Porcelain of -Germany. Böttger and the Porcelain of -Meissen, 244 - -CHAPTER XVI. The Hard-Paste Porcelain of -Germany (_continued_). -Vienna--Berlin--Höchst--Fürstenberg--Ludwigsburg--Nymphenburg ---Frankenthal--Fulda--Strassburg. The Hard and Soft Pastes of -Switzerland, Hungary, Holland, Sweden, -Denmark, and Russia, 259 - -CHAPTER XVII. The Soft-Paste Porcelain of -France. Saint-Cloud--Lille--Chantilly-- -Mennecy--Paris--Vincennes--Sèvres, 277 - -CHAPTER XVIII. The Hard-Paste Porcelain of -Sèvres and Paris, 305 - -CHAPTER XIX. The Soft and Hybrid Porcelains -of Italy and Spain, 316 - -CHAPTER XX. English Porcelain. Introduction. -The Soft-Paste Porcelain of Chelsea -and Bow, 326 - -CHAPTER XXI. English Porcelain (_continued_). -The Soft Paste of Derby, Worcester, -Caughley, Coalport, Swansea, Nantgarw, -Lowestoft, Liverpool, Pinxton, Rockingham, -Church Gresley, Spode, and Belleek, 350 - -CHAPTER XXII. English Porcelain (_continued_). -The Hard Paste of Plymouth and Bristol, 375 - -CHAPTER XXIII. Contemporary European Porcelain, 387 - - -EXPLANATION OF THE MARKS ON THE PLATES, 395 - -MARKS ON PORCELAIN, 400 - -INDEX, 405 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - I. JAPANESE, Imari porcelain (‘Old Japan’). (H. c. 19 in.) - Vase, slaty-blue under glaze, iron-red of various shades - and gold over glaze. Early eighteenth century. Salting - collection......(_Frontispiece._) - - II. CHINESE, Ming porcelain. (H. c. 15 in.) Jar with blue-black ground - and thin, skin-like glaze. Decoration in relief slightly counter-sunk, - pale yellow and greenish to turquoise blue. Probably fifteenth - century. Salting collection......(_To face p. 44._) - - III. (1) CHINESE. (H. c. 9 in.) Figure of the Teaching Buddha. Celadon - glaze, the hair black. Uncertain date. British Museum. - - (2) CHINESE, probably Ming dynasty. (H. 11¼ in.) Vase with open-work - body, enclosing plain inner vessel. Thick celadon glaze. Victoria and - Albert Museum......(_To face p. 64._) - - IV. CHINESE, Sung porcelain. (H. c. 12 in.) Small jar with thick - pale-blue glaze, and some patches of copper-red; faintly crackled. - _Circa_ 1200. British Museum......(_To face p. 71._) - - V. CHINESE, Ming porcelain. Three small bowls with apple-green glaze. - Fifteenth or sixteenth century. British Museum. - - (1) Floral design in gold on green ground. (Diam. 4¾ in.) On base a - coin-like mark, inscribed _Chang ming fu kwei_--‘long life, riches, - and honour.’ - - (2) Similar decoration and identical inscription to above (diam. 4¾ - in.), set in a German silver-gilt mounting of sixteenth century. - - (3) Shallow bowl (diam. 5¼ in.). Inside, apple-green band with gold - pattern similar to above; in centre, cranes among clouds--blue under - glaze. .....(_To face p. 81._) - - VI. CHINESE. Ming porcelain. (H. 7¾ ins.) Spherical vase, floral - decoration of Persian type in blue under glaze; the neck has probably - been removed for conversion into base of hookah. Probably sixteenth - century. Bought in Persia. Victoria and Albert Museum......(_To face - p. 84._) - - VII. (1) CHINESE. Ming porcelain. (H. c. 18 in.) Baluster-shaped vase; - greyish crackle ground, painted over the glaze with turquoise blue - flowers (with touches of cobalt), green leaves and manganese purple - scrolls; a little yellow in places, and around neck cobalt blue band - _under glaze_. On base, mark of Cheng-hua, possibly of as early a date - (1464-87). British Museum. - - (2) CHINESE. Ming porcelain. (H. c. 19 in.) Vase of square section - with four mask handles, imitating old bronze form. Enamelled with - dragons and phœnixes; copper-green and iron-red over glaze with a few - touches of yellow, combined with cobalt blue under glaze. Inscription, - under upper edge, ‘Dai Ming Wan-li nien shi.’ _Circa_ 1600. British - Museum......(_To face p. 90._) - - VIII. CHINESE. Ming porcelain. Covered inkslab (L. 9¾ in.), pen-rest - (L. 9 in.), and spherical vessel (H. 8 in.). Decorated with - scroll-work in cobalt blue under the glaze. Persian inscriptions in - cartels, relating to literary pursuits. Mark of Cheng-te (1505-21). - Obtained in Pekin. British Museum......(_To face p. 94._) - - IX. CHINESE, turquoise ware. Probably early eighteenth century. - Salting collection. - - (1) Pear-shaped vase (H. 8½ in.), decorated with phœnix in low relief. - Six-letter mark of Cheng-hua. - - (2) Plate with pierced margin (diam. 11 in.). Filfot in centre - encircled by cloud pattern, in low relief. - - (3) Small spherical incense-burner (H. 5 in.). Floral design in low - relief......(_To face p. 98._) - - X. CHINESE, _famille verte_. (H. 18 in.) Vase of square section, - decorated with flowers of the four seasons. Green, purple, and yellow - enamels and white, as reserve, on a black ground. Mark of Cheng-hua. - _Circa_ 1700. Salting collection. .....(_To face p. 100._) - - XI. CHINESE, _famille verte_. (H. 26 in.) Baluster-shaped vase, - decorated with dragons with four claws and snake-like bodies amid - clouds. Poor yellow, passing into white, green of two shades, and - manganese purple upon a black ground. A very thin skin of glaze, with - dullish surface. Probably before 1700. Salting collection. (_To face - p. 102._) - - XII. _Chinese_, egg-shell porcelain. _Famille rose._ - - (1) Plate (diam. 8¼ in.). On border, vine with grapes, in gold. In - centre, lady on horseback, accompanied by old man and boy carrying - scrolls. 1730-50. British Museum. - - (2) Plate (diam. 8½ in.) In centre the arms of the Okeover family with - elaborate mantling. Initials of Luke Okeover and his wife on margin. - Early _famille rose_, the _rouge d’or_ only sparingly applied. _Circa_ - 1725. British Museum. .....(_To face p. 108._) - - XIII. (1) CHINESE, _famille verte_. Long-necked, globular vase (H. 17 - in.), enamelled with figures of Taoist sages, etc.: green, iron-red, - yellow, purple, and opaque blue, all over the glaze. Early eighteenth - century. Salting collection. - - (2) CHINESE. Tall cylindrical vase (H. 18 in.). Red fish among eddies - of gold on blue ground. Early eighteenth century. Salting collection. - - (3) CHINESE. Spindle-shaped vase (H. 18 in.). Pure white, chalky - ground; three fabulous animals seated. 1720-40. Salting collection. - .....(_To face p. 110._) - - XIV. JAPANESE. Imari porcelain. Large dish (diam. 20 in.). Painted - under the glaze with cobalt blue in various shades, relieved with - gold. In centre, landscape with Baptism of Christ. Below, in panel on - margin--Mat. 3 16. Seventeenth century. Victoria and Albert Museum. - .....(_To face p. 133._) - - XV. (1) CHINESE. Open-work cylinder (H. 5¼ in.) formed of nine - interlacing dragons; the top pierced with nine holes. Plain white - ware, with greyish white glaze. Probably Ting ware of Ming period. - Victoria and Albert Museum. - - (2) CHINESE. Ming porcelain. Water-vessel for base of hookah (H. 4¾ - in.). Cobalt blue under glaze. Chinese sixteenth century; made for the - Persian market. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To face p. 142._) - - XVI. CHINESE. Two vases for flowers (H. 11¼ and 10½ in.). Floral - design in white slip upon a _fond laque_ or ‘dead leaf’ ground. - Seventeenth century. Bought in Persia. Victoria and Albert - Museum......(_To face p. 146._) - - XVII. CHINESE. Three vases, examples of _flambé_ or ‘transmutation’ - glazes. First half eighteenth century. Salting collection. - - (1) Vase with monster handles (H. 9 in.); glaze irregularly crackled. - - (2) Cylindrical vase, made in a mould (H. 10 in.). - - (3) Small pear-shaped vase (H. 7½ in.), mottled red and blue......(_To - face p. 150._) - - XVIII. (1) CHINESE ‘blue and white.’ Small vase (H. 7½ in.). The paste - pierced before glazing to form an open-work pattern filled up by - glaze. Eighteenth century. British Museum. - - (2) CHINESE ‘blue and white.’ Mortar-shaped vase (H. 10 in.). - Scattered figures of Taoist sages in pale blue. Chinese, probably - sixteenth century. British Museum. .....(_To face p. 154._) - - XIX. CHINESE, Ming porcelain. Vase (H. 9½ in.), shaped into vertical, - convex panels. The top has been ground down. Very thick paste, showing - marks of juncture of moulds. Decoration of kilins and pine-trees in - exceptionally brilliant cobalt blue under glaze. Probably fifteenth - century. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To face p. 157._) - - XX. CHINESE. Globular vase with long neck (H. 17¾ in.). Design built - up of lines of iron-red and gold. _Circa_ 1720. Bought in Persia. - Victoria and Albert Museum......(_To face p. 162._) - - XXI. CHINESE armorial porcelain. Octagonal plate (diam. 16 in.). - Talbot arms in centre surrounded by design of books, scrolls, - etc.--all in blue under glaze. Early eighteenth century. British - Museum......(_To face p. 164._) - - XXII. CHINESE porcelain from Siam. Three covered bowls, probably - enamelled in Canton for the Siamese market. Early nineteenth century. - Victoria and Albert Museum. - - (1) Floral design in iron-red, green and yellow over glaze. (H. 6½ in.) - - (2) Buddhist divinities in panels amid flame-like ground. Opaque - enamels--iron-red, pink, yellow and black. (H. 9 in.) - - (3) Floral design in cobalt blue under glaze. (H. 6¼ in.) Brass rim - and foot. Said to be a cinerary urn. (_Tho-khôt._).....(_To face p. - 174._) - - XXIII. JAPANESE, Kakiyemon ware. _Circa_ 1650. British Museum. - - (1) Saucer or plate with scalloped edge (diam. 9¾ in.). Prunus - springing from straw hedge, Chinese boy and tigers. Enamels--green, - yellow, iron-red and blue, all over glaze. - - (2) Four-sided bottle (H. 8¾ in.). Formally treated flowers in - iron-red, green and blue, all over glaze. - - (3) Octagonal saucer (diam. 5¾ in.). Decoration of quails and flowers - in iron-red, green and gold over glaze, with cobalt blue under glaze. - .....(_To face p. 184._) - - XXIV. (1) CHINESE. Covered bowl (H. 8 in.). Floral rosette with - fourteen lobes in imitation of the Japanese _kiku-mon_. Iron-red, - green and gold over glaze with deep cobalt blue under glaze. Early - eighteenth century; made at King-te-chen in imitation of the - contemporary Imari ware. Salting collection. - - (2) JAPANESE, Imari ware. Bowl with scalloped edge (diam. 9 in.). - Chrysanthemum flowers in low relief; iron-red, green and gold over - glaze and cobalt blue under glaze. _Circa_ 1700. Salting collection. - .....(_To face p. 186._) - - XXV. JAPANESE, Imari ware. Large plate (diam. 22 in.). On margin, - mandarin ducks, cranes and doves in panels amid flowers; in centre, - two eagles. Iron-red of various shades, gold and a few touches of - green over glaze with deep cobalt blue under glaze. Late seventeenth - century. Salting collection......(_To face p. 188._) - - XXVI. JAPANESE, Kutani ware. Jar (H. 13 in.); on a greyish white, - somewhat crackled ground, grotesque dancing figures; iron-red, - manganese purple, yellow, green, and blue, all over glaze. Seventeenth - century. British Museum. .....(_To face p. 204._) - - XXVII. JAPANESE. Kutani, kaolinic stoneware. Octagonal bottle, in - shape of double gourd (H. 12 in.). Thick enamels--green (predominant), - iron-red, purple and blue, all over glaze. _Circa_ 1700. Victoria and - Albert Museum. .....(_To face p. 206._) - - XXVIII. CHINESE ‘blue and white.’ Two bowls, set in copper-gilt mounts - of English make, _circa_ 1600-1620. From a set of five pieces long - preserved at Burleigh House. Pierpont Morgan collection. - - (1) Shallow bowl (diam. 9 in.), in centre medallion with phœnix. Mark - of Wan-li (1572-1619). - - (2) Bowl, with deer in panels (diam. 10 in.). _Circa_ 1600......(_To - face p. 222._) - - XXIX. MEDICI porcelain. Late sixteenth century. Victoria and Albert - Museum. - - (1) Pear-shaped vase (H. 6⅞ in.). Floral design in cobalt blue, - outlined with manganese black, both under glaze. - - (2) Double-necked cruet (H. 6 in.). Design in pale blue under glaze. - On the neck, A and O, for _aceto_ and _oglio_......(_To face p. 236._) - - XXX. MEDICI porcelain. Plate or shallow bowl (diam. 7 in.). Floral - design in somewhat Persian style, in cobalt blue under glaze. On back, - the dome of Sta. Maria del fiore and the letter F. Late sixteenth - century. Fitzhenry collection......(_To face p. 238._) - - XXXI. MEISSEN porcelain. Hexagonal vase with cover (H. 12 in.). Floral - design in coloured enamels of the Kakiyemon style. Mark, the crossed - swords in blue. 1730-50. Franks collection (Bethnal Green)......(_To - face p. 253._) - - XXXII. (1) MEISSEN porcelain. Plate with wavy edge (diam. 9 in.). - Claret border with gold sprigs. Humming-bird in centre. Mark, the - crossed swords with dot in blue. 1763-74, in imitation of Chelsea - ware. Victoria and Albert Museum, ex Bernal collection. - - (2) LUDWIGSBURG porcelain. Plate (diam. 9¼ in.). Scrolls in low relief - in white round margin; scattered flowers in lilac _camaïeu_. Mark, - double C under crown, for Carl, Duke of Würtemberg. 1760-70. Victoria - and Albert Museum......(_To face p. 266._) - - XXXIII. (1) ROUEN porcelain. Cup (H. 3¼ in.). Conventional design, in - dark blue under glaze, in style of seventeenth century. Thin and very - translucent body. Probably before 1700. Fitzhenry collection. - - (2) SAINT-CLOUD porcelain. Ewer with cover (H. 7¾ in.). Scale pattern - in relief. Celadon glaze of sagy-green tint. Mounted with thumb-piece - and rim of engraved silver. _Circa_ 1700. Fitzhenry collection. - - (3) SAINT-CLOUD porcelain. Ewer with cover (H. 5¼ in.). Conventional - design, in blue under glaze, in style of seventeenth century. _Circa_ - 1700. Fitzhenry collection. .....(_To face p. 282._) - - XXXIV. CHANTILLY porcelain. Two cylindrical vases with covers (H. 7 - in.). Rims mounted in silver (one gilt). Enamelled over the glaze - in the Kakiyemon style-Chinese landscape and boys playing. Mark, - hunting-horn in red. _Circa_ 1730-40. Fitzhenry collection. .....(_To - face p. 286._) - - XXXV. (1) SÈVRES, white biscuit-ware (H. 6½ in.). Young girl seated - with a _sabot_ in her lap, a child crouching beside her. Mark, F - incised (perhaps for Falconet or for the year 1758). Franks collection - (Bethnal Green). - - (2) MENNECY, white glazed ware. Figure of bagpiper (H. 9½ in.). - _Circa_ 1750. (From an engraving by J. Dumont le Rom, 1739.) Franks - collection (Bethnal Green). .....(_To face p. 288._) - - XXXVI. (1) VINCENNES or EARLY SÈVRES porcelain. Ewer with cover (H. - 4¾ in.). _Gros bleu_ ground with birds and flowers in white reserves. - Mark, double L with three dots, in blue under glaze. _Circa_ 1750. - Victoria and Albert Museum; Jones collection. - - (2) and (3) SÈVRES porcelain. Two small _sucriers_ (H. 3 in.). _Gros - bleu_ and green ground, with birds on branches painted in white - reserves. No mark, but early. Victoria and Albert Museum; Jones - collection. .....(_To face p. 294._) - - XXXVII. SÈVRES porcelain. Vase (H. 10¾ in.), one of a pair, decorated - with wreaths of flowers on a white ground. Mark, the letter I, for - 1761. Victoria and Albert Museum; Jones collection. .....(_To face p. - 296._) - - XXXVIII. SÈVRES porcelain. _Écuelle_ and saucer (diam. 5 in. and 7½ - in.). Turquoise ground; panels with pastoral scenes. Mark, the letter - Q for 1768, and _ch._ for the painter Chabry. Victoria and Albert - Museum; Jones collection. .....(_To face p. 298._) - - XXXIX. SÈVRES porcelain. _Sucrier_, saucer and caddy from _Cabaret_ - (H. 4 in., 4¾ in., and 3 in.). _Rose carné_ ground; flowers, etc., - painted on white reserves. Mark, the letter H for 1760, and an anchor - for the painter Buteux père. Victoria and Albert Museum; Jones - collection. .....(_To face p. 300._) - - XL. SÈVRES porcelain. Covered cup (H. 3¾ in.) and saucer (diam. 5 - in.). Jewelled decoration on white ground. Studs of opaque white and - turquoise and transparent ruby, connected by foliage of transparent - green lined by gold. 1780-86. No mark. Currie collection. .....(_To - face p. 302._) - - XLI. (1) and (2) VENETIAN porcelain. Tall cup (H. 4⅜ in.) and saucer - (diam. 5⅛ in.). Birds and vines in blue under glaze with slight - gilding. Mark, Ven^{a} on cup, the same in script on saucer. Probably - the work of the Vezzi family (1719-40). Franks collection (Bethnal - Green). - - (3) MEISSEN porcelain. Pot-pourri with cover (H. 5½ in.). Fluted - sides, flowers in high relief enamelled in colours. Mark, crossed - swords in blue. _Circa_ 1750. From the Strawberry Hill collection. - Franks collection (Bethnal Green). - - (4) FRANKENTHAL porcelain. Ewer and cover (H. 6⅝ in.). Painted in - lilac _camaïeu_ with landscape (signed--Magnus pi.) Gilt borders. - 1761-78. Mark, C. T. under crown in blue. Franks collection (Bethnal - Green). .....(_To face p. 316._) - - XLII. (1) CAPO DI MONTE porcelain. Scent bottle (H. 3⅞ in.). Child in - swaddling-clothes of blue and lilac. _Circa_ 1750. Victoria and Albert - Museum. - - (2) CAPO DI MONTE porcelain. Siren (H. 2⅝ in.), plain white, made for - stand of vessel. _Circa_ 1750. From the Bandinel collection. Victoria - and Albert Museum. - - (3) CAPO DI MONTE porcelain. Triton (H. 2⅞ in.). Plaque in low relief, - made for application. _Circa_ 1750. Victoria and Albert Museum. - - (4) DOCCIA porcelain. Cup with cover (H. 4⅜ in.). Plain white, vine - branches in relief. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To face p. - 320._) - - XLIII. CHELSEA porcelain. Saucer (diam. 4½ in.), sugar-basin (H. 4 - in.), and cream-jug (H. 2¾ in.), forming part of an extensive tea - equipage. Claret ground with rich gilding; pastoral figures in reserve - panels. _Circa_ 1760. Victoria and Albert Museum; Thomson bequest. - .....(_To face p. 340._) - - XLIV. CHELSEA porcelain. Two figures of minuet dancers (H. 11½ in. - and 10¾ in.). Enamelled with winy-red, pale opaque turquoise, and a - little green and iron-red--the lady’s stays lavender. These figures - seem to have been suggested by the principal dancers in Watteau’s - _Fête Champêtre_ now at Edinburgh (engraved by Laurent Carrs, 1734, - as _Fêtes Venitiennes_). _Circa_ 1760. Victoria and Albert Museum; - Schreiber collection......(_To face p. 342._) - - XLV. (1) CHELSEA porcelain. Plate (diam. 8 in.) with wavy edge. - Enamelled with shades of iron-red and green, with blue under glaze and - gilding, in imitation of brocaded Imari ware. 1750-60. Victoria and - Albert Museum. - - (2) BOW porcelain. Octagonal plate (diam. 9 in.). In centre, two - fighting cocks, in the Kakiyemon style; the wreaths of flowers - suggested rather by Dresden. Iron-red, claret, and an opaque, poor - blue enamel, laid on thickly, with gilding. _Circa_ 1760. Victoria and - Albert Museum......(_To face p. 346._) - - XLVI. WORCESTER porcelain. Tea-poy (H. 6½ in.), sugar-basin (H. 4¾ - in.), and milk-jug (H. 5 in.) from a tea equipage. Trellis design. - _Circa_ 1780. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To face p. 362._) - - XLVII. WATER-COLOUR DRAWING (17 in. by 18½ in.), by Thomas Baxter, - junior; signed and dated 1810. The studio of Thomas Baxter, senior, - 1 Gough Square. Porcelain painters at work. A price-list of Coalport - white china is seen on the wall. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To - face p. 366._) - - XLVIII. (1) PLYMOUTH porcelain. Market-woman with flower-basket (H. 10 - in.). Plain white, with lines of dirty brown in folds of drapery and - stand. _Circa_ 1770. Victoria and Albert Museum; Schreiber collection. - - (2) BRISTOL porcelain. Female figure, ‘Autumn’ (H. 10 in.). Belt - with signs of zodiac. Enamels--green, lilac, iron-red, and - yellowish-green, with gilding. _Circa_ 1775. Victoria and Albert - Museum; Schreiber collection. .....(_To face p. 380._) - - XLIX. (1) BRISTOL biscuit-ware. Medallion (max. diam. of plaque, 6 - in.) with head of Washington in centre, from a contemporary medal - (‘General of the Continental Armies’). _Circa_ 1778. British Museum. - - (2) BRISTOL porcelain. Ink-stand (H. 7½ in.), in plain white ware, - supported by three griffins. Victoria and Albert Museum. .....(_To - face p. 382._) - - - - -SELECTED LIST OF WORKS ON PORCELAIN - - -ALPHABETICAL LIST OF AUTHORS - - ALEXANDRA PALACE: _Catalogue of Collection of English Porcelain and - Pottery on Loan in 1873._ - - - BACHELIER ET GOUELLAIN: _Mémoire Historique sur la Porcelaine de la - France, ré-édité avec préface, par G. G._ Paris, 1878. - - BARBER (E. A.): _Pottery and Porcelain in the United States._ New - York, 1901. - - BEMROSE (W.): _Bow, Chelsea, and Derby Porcelain._ London, 1898. - - BERTIN (HENRI): _Catalogue and Notice of ‘Cabinet Chinois.’_ Paris, - 1815. - - BING (M. S.): _La Céramique Japonaise_ (in Gonze’s _Art Japonais_). - Paris, 1883. - - BINNS (R. W.):-- - - _A Century of Potting in the City of Worcester._ Worcester, 1883. - - _Catalogue of Collection of Porcelain at Royal Porcelain Works._ - Worcester, 1882. - -BRINCKMANN (J.): _Hamburgisches Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe. -Beschreibung des Europäischen Porzellans._ Hamburg, 1894. - -BRINKLEY (F.): _History of Japanese Ceramics_ (_Chrysanthemum_, iii., -1883). Yokohama. - -BRONGNIART (ALEXANDRE): _Traité des Arts Céramiques._ 2 vols. and Atlas. -Paris, 1844, 1854, and 1857 (with additions by A. Salvétat). - -BRONGNIART ET RIOCREUX: _Sèvres, Musée Céramique._ Paris, 1845. - -BURTON (W.):-- - - _History of English Ceramics._ 1902. - - _The Influence of Material on Design of Pottery._ Cantor Lectures, - 1897. - -BURLINGTON FINE ARTS CLUB:-- - - _English and Continental Porcelain._ 1873. - - _Blue and White Oriental China._ 1895. - - _Coloured Chinese Porcelain._ 1896. - -BUSHELL (S. W.):-- - - _Oriental Ceramic Art, illustrated by selections from the - Collection of W. T. Walters._ Folio. New York, 1897; Text Edition, - 8vo., 1899. - - _Chinese Porcelain before the present Dynasty._ Pekin, 1886. - - -CHAFFERS (W.):-- - - _The Ceramic Gallery, with 500 Illustrations._ 1872. - - _Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain._ 9th edition. 1900. - -CHAMPFLEURY: _Bibliographie Céramique._ Paris, 1881. - -CHANTILLY: _La Manufacture de Porcelaine de C._ Paris, 1892. - -CHURCH (A. H.):-- - - _English Earthenware_ (South Kensington Art Handbook). 1884. - - _English Porcelain_ (South Kensington Art Handbook). 1885 and 1898. - - _Scientific and Artistic Aspects of Pottery._ Cantor Lectures, - 1881. - - -D’ENTRECOLLES (PÈRE): _Lettres Édifiantes et Curieuses._ - -DAVILLIER (J. C.):-- - - _Les Origines de la Porcelaine en Europe._ Paris, 1882. - - _Les Porcelaines de Sèvres et Mme. du Barry._ Paris, 1870. - -DRAKE (SIR W.): _Notes on Venetian Ceramics._ Privately printed, 1868. - -DUBREUIL: _La Porcelaine._ Part 42 of Fremy’s _Encyclopédie Chimique_. -Paris, 1885. - - -ENGELHARDT (C. A.): _J. F. Böttger, Erfinder des Sächsischen -Porzellans._ Leipsic, 1837. - - -FALKE (Jacob von): _Die K.K. Wiener Porzellan Fabrik._ Vienna, 1887. - -FRANKS (SIR A. W.):-- - - _Catalogue of Oriental Pottery and Porcelain._ 1878. - - _Catalogue of Continental Porcelain._ 1896. - - _Japanese Pottery_ (South Kensington Handbook). 1880. - - _The Manufacture of Porcelain at Chelsea. Archæological Journal._ - 1862. - - -GARNIER (ÉDOUARD):-- - - _Histoire de la Céramique._ Tours, 1882. - - _The Soft-Paste Porcelain of Sèvres._ 50 Plates. 1892. - - _Copenhagen, Manufacture Royale de Porcelaine_ (_Bulletin de l’Art - et de l’Industrie_). Paris, 1894. - -GARNIER ET GASNAULT: _Musée National, Limoges, Catalogue._ 1881. - -GASNAULT ET GARNIER: _French Pottery_ (South Kensington Handbook). 1884. - -GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM: _See_ REEKS, T. - -GERSAINT: _Catalogue of the Fonspertuis Collection._ Paris, 1747. - -GINORI (MARCHESE CARLO): _La Manifattura Ginori a Doccia._ Florence, -1867. - -GONZE (LOUIS): _L’Art Japonais._ Paris, 1886. - -GOUELLAIN: _see_ BACHELIER. - -GRAESSE (J. G. T.): _Guide de l’amateur de Porcelaine et de Potterie._ -Dresden, 4th edition, 1873. - -GRANDIDIER (E.): _La Céramique Chinoise._ Paris, 1894. - -GRIGGS (W.): _Examples of Armorial China._ Folio. 1887. - -GULLAND (W. G.): _Chinese Porcelain_ (notes by T. J. Larkin). 1898 and -1903. - - -HASLEM (JOHN): _The Old Derby China Factory._ 1876. - -HIPPISLEY (ALFRED): _Ceramic Art in China_ (Smithsonian Institute). -Washington, 1890. - -HIRTH (F.): _Ancient Chinese Porcelain._ Leipsic, 1888. - -HOFFMANN: _Mémoire sur la Céramique du Japon_ (Appendix to Juliens -work). - -HOUDOY (JULES): _Histoire de la Céramique Lilloise._ Paris, 1869. - - -JACQUEMART (A.) ET LE BLANC (E.): _Histoire de la Porcelaine._ Folio; -etchings by Jules Jacquemart. Paris, 1862. - -JACQUEMART (A.):-- - - _Histoire de la Céramique._ Paris, 1873. English translation by - Mrs. Palliser. 1873. - - _Les Merveilles de la Céramique._ Paris, 1866-69. - -JAENNICKE (FRIEDRICH):-- - - _Grundriss der Keramik._ Stuttgart, 1878-79. - - _Die Gesammte Keramische Litteratur._ Stuttgart, 1882. - -JEWITT (LL.):-- - - _The Ceramic Art of Great Britain._ 1883. - - _A History of the Coalport Porcelain Works._ 1862. - -JULIEN (STANISLAS): _Histoire et Fabrication de la Porcelaine Chinoise._ -Translated from the Chinese. Notes by Salvétat; and memoir on Japanese -Porcelain by Hoffmann. Paris, 1856. - - -KOLBE (G.): _Geschichte der K. Porzellan Manufactur zu Berlin._ Berlin, -1863. - - -LITCHFIELD (FRED.): _Pottery and Porcelain._ 1900. - - -MACON (G.): _Les Arts dans la Maison de Condé._ Paris, 1903. - -MARRYAT (JOSEPH): _History of Pottery and Porcelain._ 3rd edition, 1868. - -METEYARD (ELIZA): _Life of Josiah Wedgwood._ 1865. - -MEYER (A. B.): _Lung-chüan yao, oder alter Seladon Porzellan._ Berlin, -1889. - -MILLY (COMTE DE): _L’Art de la Porcelaine._ Paris, 1771. - -MONKHOUSE (COSMO): _History and Description of Chinese Porcelain._ -(Notes by S. W. Bushell.) 1901. - - -NIGHTINGALE (J. E.): _Contributions towards the History of English -Porcelain, from contemporary sources._ Salisbury, 1881. - - -OWEN (HUGH): _Two Centuries of Ceramic Art at Bristol._ 1873. - - -PARIS (Exposition Universelle, 1900): _Histoire de l’art de Japon._ - -PATENT OFFICE: _Patents relating to Pottery and Porcelain._ 1863. - -PIOT (EUGÈNE): _Histoire de la Porcelaine_ (Cabinet de l’Amateur). -Paris, 1863. - - -RANDALL (JOHN): _A History of Madeley, including Coalport_, etc. -Madeley, 1880. - -REEKS (T.), and RUDLER (F. W.): _Catalogue of English Pottery in the -Museum of Practical Geology._ 1893. - -RIAÑO (DON JUAN): _Handbook of Spanish Arts_ (South Kensington). 1879. - -RICCIO: _La Fabbrica della Porcellana in Napoli._ Naples, 1878. - -RIS-PAQUOT (O. E.): _Dictionnaire des Marques et Monogrammes de -Porcelaines._ Paris, 1880 and 1893. - - -SALVÉTAT (A.): _Leçons de Céramique._ Paris, 1857. - -SARTEL (O. DU): _La Porcelaine de Chine._ Paris, 1881. - -SCHREIBER COLLECTION, _Catalogue of_. 1885. - -SEIDLITZ (W. VON): _Die Meissner Porzellan Manufactur unter Böttger_ -(_Society of Saxon History_, vol. ix.) - -SOIL, EUGÈNE: _Recherches sur les Anciennes Porcelaines de Tournay._ -Paris, 1883. - -SOLON (M. L.): _History of Old English Porcelain._ 1903. - -SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM:-- - - _List of Books on Pottery and Porcelain in the National Library._ - 2nd edition, 1885. - - _Classified Catalogue of Printed Books, Ceramics._ 1895. - -STEGMANN (H.): _Die Fürstliche Braunschweigische Porzellan Manufactur zu -Fürstenberg._ Brunswick, 1893. - -STRÅLE (G. H.): _Rörstrand et Marieberg. Céramiques Suédoises du -dix-huitième Siècle._ Stockholm, 1872. - - -THIANCOURT et DAVILLIER: _L’Art de Restaurer les Porcelaines._ Paris, -1865. - -TIFFEN (W. F.): _A Chronograph of the Bow, Chelsea, and Derby China -Manufactories._ Salisbury, 1875. - -TURNER (W.): _The Ceramics of Swansea and Nantgarw._ 1897. - - -UYEDA, TOKUNOSUKE. _La Céramique Japonaise._ Paris, 1895. - - -VERNADSKY. _Molecular Composition of Porcelain._ ‘_Comptes Rendus_,’ -1890, p. 1377. - -VOGT (GEORGES): _La Porcelaine._ Paris, 1893. - - -WALLACE COLLECTION (Hertford House): _Catalogue of Porcelain_, etc. -1902. - -WALPOLE (HORACE): _Ædes Strawberrianæ: Catalogue of the Strawberry Hill -Collection._ Privately printed, 1784. - -WURTZ (HENRY): _Chemistry and Composition of Porcelain and Porcelain -Rocks in Japan._ Philadelphia Exhibition Reports, 1877. - - -ZAIS (E.): _Die Kurmainzische Porzellan-Manufactur zu Höchst._ Mainz, -1887. - - - - -KEY TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST - -ALPHABETICAL LIST OF TOPOGRAPHY AND SUBJECT - - - _America._ Barber. - - - _Berlin._ Kolbe. - - _Bibliography._ Champfleury, Jaennicke, South Kensington. - - _Bow._ Bemrose, Tiffen. - - _Bristol._ Owen. - - _Buen Retiro._ Riaño. - - - _Capo di Monte._ Riccio. - - _Catalogues._ Burlington Fine Arts Club, Bertin, Binns, Franks, - Garnier, Schreiber, Walpole, Wallace. - - _Chantilly._ Chantilly, Gasnault, Macon. - - _Chelsea._ Bemrose, Franks, Tiffen. - - _China._ Burlington Fine Arts Club, Bushell, D’Entrecolles, Franks, - Griggs, Gulland, Grandidier, Hirth, Hippisley, Julien, Meyer, - Monkhouse, Du Sartel. - - _Coalport._ Randall. - - _Composition and Chemistry._ Brongniart, Church, Reeks, Vernadsky. - - _Continental Porcelain._ Brinckmann, Franks, Garnier. - - - _Derby._ Bemrose, Haslem, Tiffen. - - _Doccia._ Ginori. - - _Dresden._ See _Meissen_. - - - _English Porcelain._ Alexandra Palace, Burton, Church, Jewitt, - Nightingale, Reeks, Solon. - - - _Fürstenberg._ Stegmann. - - - _General._ Chaffers, Garnier, Jacquemart, Jaennicke, Litchfield, - Marryat, Piot, Vogt. - - - _Höchst._ Zais. - - - _Japan._ Brinkley, Bushell, Bing, Franks, Gonze, Hoffmann, Paris - Exhibition, Uyeda, Wurtz. - - - _Korea._ Bushell. - - - _Lille._ Houdoy. - - - _Manufacture._ See _Technology_. - - _Marks._ Chaffers, Franks, Jaennicke, Ris-Paquot. - - _Medici._ Davillier. - - _Meissen._ Brinckmann, Engelhardt, Grässe, Seidlitz. - - - _Nantgarw._ Turner. - - - _Plymouth._ Owen. - - - _Repairing._ Thiancourt. - - - _Saint-Cloud._ Lister, Gasnault. - - _Saxony._ See _Meissen_. - - _Sèvres._ Bachelier, Davillier, Garnier, Gasnault, Vogt. - - _Swansea._ Turner. - - _Sweden._ Stråle. - - - _Technology._ Brongniart, Burton, Bushell, D’Entrecolles, Dubreuil, - Julien, Reeks, Salvétat, Vogt, Wurtz. - - _Tournay._ Soil. - - - _Venice._ Davillier, Drake. - - _Vienna._ Falke. - - - _Wedgwood._ Meteyard. - - _Worcester._ Binns. - - - - -LIST OF WORKS ON OTHER SUBJECTS REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT - - - BORLASE. _Natural History of Cornwall._ Oxford, 1758. - - - CHARDIN. _Voyages en Perse._ Amsterdam, 1686. - - - DAVIS (SIR JOHN): _The Chinese._ 1857. - - - GERTZ. _Les Produits de la Nature Chinoise et Japonaise._ Yokohama. - - - HIRTH (F.):-- - - _China and the Roman Orient._ 1855. - - _Fremde Einflüsse in der Chinesischen Kunst._ Leipsic, 1896. - - _Chinesische Studien._ Munich, 1890. - - -LISTER (DR. MARTIN): _Journey to Paris._ London, 1699. - - -POLO (MARCO):-- - - _Le Livre de M. P._ Edited by M. G. Pauthier. Paris, 1865. - - _The Book of Ser M. P._ Edited by H. Yule, 1871. - -PALÉOLOGUE: _L’Art Chinois._ Paris, 1887. - -PLOT (DR.): _Natural History of Oxfordshire._ Oxford, 1677. - - -REIN (J. J.): _Industries of Japan._ 1889. - -RICHTHOFEN (FERDINAND V.): _China._ Berlin, 1877. - - -YULE (H.): _Cathay and the Way Thither._ 1866. - - - - -PORCELAIN - - - - -CHAPTER I - -INTRODUCTORY AND SCIENTIFIC - - -It is with a comparatively small branch of the art of the potter that we -are concerned in this book. Porcelain or china, in all countries except -the one where it was slowly brought to perfection, has always remained -something of an exotic, and even in China we shall see that it was the -immediate Imperial patronage and the constant demand for the court at -Pekin that brought about the great development of the art under the -present dynasty. In Japan, the first independent country to which the -new art spread, it was under the eye of the greater and smaller feudal -lords, often in the very garden of their palaces, that the kilns were -erected, while the ware produced was reserved for the use of the prince -and his household. Both in China and Japan we shall find the decline of -the art to go hand in hand with the advance of the demand for the -Western market, so that by the beginning of the nineteenth century we -lose all interest in the manufacture. - -This dependence upon royal or princely support is equally prominent in -the history of the shortlived porcelain factories of Europe. Their -success or failure has generally followed closely upon the greater or -less interest taken in them by the reigning prince, and few of these -kilns survived the political changes of the end of the eighteenth -century. - -No doubt, within the last twenty years or so a certain revival has come -about both in the Far East and in certain European countries, and that -under totally different conditions from those which prevailed in the -eighteenth century. Here and there, at least, the manufacture of -porcelain has come within the sphere of the new impulses that have -brought about such changes in the ‘Arts and Crafts’ at the end of the -nineteenth century. - -In its main lines, the history of porcelain is a very simple one. Slowly -developed during the Middle Ages in China, the manufacture became -concentrated at one spot, at King-te-chen, and there reached its highest -development early in the eighteenth century. In Europe, the repeated -attempts to produce a similar ware had about the same time been crowned -with complete success in Saxony; while in England and in France a ware -closely resembling in aspect the Chinese, but softer and more fusible, -had been accepted as an equivalent. Speaking generally, then, we can -make these three statements with regard to the history of porcelain:-- - -1. That the art had its origin and complete development in China. - -2. That it has seldom flourished except under royal or princely -patronage. - -3. That porcelain, from the artistic point of view, is essentially a -product of the eighteenth century, and that this statement is true in -the main as regards the country of its origin, though in this latter -case we must make a certain reserve in favour of the earlier wares. - -Our subject may seem a simple one compared with some kindred branches of -the industrial arts, such, for example, as the history of glass-making, -or that of cloisonné and other enamels. We come indeed at more than one -time into contact with both these arts, and it is just at these points -that some of our chief difficulties arise. It is in view of such -questions as these, and indeed of many others equally important in the -history of porcelain, that the necessity of a thorough understanding of -the technical and even chemical side of our subject becomes evident. Of -course, if in discussing the different kinds of porcelain we are -concerned only with their merits or demerits as artistic products, we -can put aside these practical questions as ‘beneath the dignity of our -argument.’ But such a treatment of the subject would land us only too -surely in vague generalities and in an arrangement based upon personal -caprice. We require, above all at the start, a firm basis, and this can -only be found in a thorough comprehension not only of the technical -processes that are involved in the manufacture of porcelain, but of the -physical and chemical nature of the substance itself. - -But first we need some kind of preliminary definition of what is meant -by the word. Porcelain, then, is distinguished from other fictile wares -by possessing in a pre-eminent degree the following qualities: hardness, -difficult fusibility, translucency, and whiteness of body or paste. Any -specimen of ceramic ware that possesses all these qualities may be -classed as porcelain, and from a practical point of view, the more it -excels under these heads, the better specimen of porcelain it is. - -These were the qualities by which the porcelain brought from the East in -the seventeenth century was distinguished from any ware made at that -time in Europe. Our ancestors dwelt especially on the practical -advantages of the hard glaze and the elastic compact paste of the new -ware, which compared favourably with the easily scratched surface and -the crumbly body of the earthenware then in general use. - -The greater infusibility that accompanies this hardness was not a point -of much importance to them, but they marvelled at the translucency of -the edges, as of some natural stone, and we find absurdly exaggerated -accounts of the transparency both of the original ware and of the -imitation that they claimed to have made. Finally, they noticed that the -whiteness of the surface was not given by an artificial layer more or -less closely adhering to an earthy base, but was the natural colour of -the paste to which the thin layer of transparent glaze merely gave the -effect of the polish on ivory or on marble. What then was this hard, -white, translucent substance? What wonder if from one end of Europe to -the other, scheming minds--chemists, alchemists, physicians, potters, -and charlatans--were at work trying to make something that should -resemble it? The history of this long search is a very interesting one, -but it would be impossible to explain its failures, its partial failures -(these last resulting in a compromise--soft-paste porcelain), and the -final success of Böttger, without, as it were, going behind the scenes, -and giving some account of porcelain from a modern, scientific point of -view. - -And first let us say that, although when treating of porcelain from the -historical and especially from the æsthetic standpoint (and this after -all is our principal business in this book), it is well to take a wide -grasp and include a whole class of china--I mean the soft-paste -ware--which does not come up to our standard of hardness and -infusibility, this is not the case when we are considering the physical, -and especially the chemical, nature of porcelain. By confining -ourselves, for the present, to true hard porcelain, we have the -advantage of dealing with a substance which chemically and physically -may be compared to a definite mineral species. Nay more, we propose here -to confine ourselves to the consideration of the hard pastes used at the -present day in the wares of France and Germany, neglecting for the -present the softer and more irregular porcelain of the Chinese. - -First as regards hardness, the surface of the paste of a true porcelain, -when free from glaze, can be scratched by a crystal of quartz, but it is -untouched by the hardest steel. That is to say, it would be classed by -the mineralogist with felspar, and given a hardness of 6 to 6·5 on his -scale.[1] - -The freshly broken edge shows a white, perfectly uniform substance, a -glassy or vitreous lustre, a finely granular texture, and a fracture -conchoidal to splintery. When struck, a vessel of porcelain gives a -clear, bell-like note, and in this differs from other kinds of pottery. -When held against the light it allows, where the piece is sufficiently -thin, a certain amount to pass through, but even in the thinnest -splinters porcelain is never transparent. - -If a thin section be made of a piece of porcelain, and this be examined -under the microscope by transmitted light, we see, scattered in a clear, -or nearly clear, paste, a vast number of minute, slender rods, and -between them many minute granules (Church’s _English Porcelain_, p. 6). -These belonites and spherulites, as they have been called, doubtless -reflect the light which would otherwise pass through the glassy base in -which they float, and the partial reflection and partial transmission of -the light may not be unconnected with the lustrous fracture so -characteristic of porcelain. Their presence points to the fact that we -are dealing with a more or less definite substance, one which may be -compared to a natural mineral species, and not merely with a semi-fused -clay, something between stoneware and glass. Now when we come to treat -of the chemical constitution of porcelain, we shall find that this view -is confirmed. This structure is developed in the paste by the exposure, -for a considerable period of time, to a temperature of from 1300° to -1500° centigrade, a temperature which is sufficient to reduce all other -kinds of pottery, with the exception of some kinds of stoneware, to a -glassy mass. In the case of porcelain, this great and prolonged heat -allows of a complete rearrangement of the molecules in the softened -mass. The process may be compared to that by which certain minerals and -rocks are formed in the depths of the earth. - -We see, then, that not only from the standpoint of history, but on the -basis of the physical properties and intimate constitution of the -material, we are able to draw a sharp line between porcelain and other -fictile wares. This distinction is even more definitely shown by a -chemical analysis.[2] - -We are dealing, as in the case of so large a part of the rocks and -minerals of the earth’s surface, with certain silicates of the alkalis -and alkaline earths, with silicates of alumina above all. All natural -clays used for fictile purposes consist essentially of silicates of -various bases, such as alumina, lime, iron, potash, and soda, more or -less intimately combined with water, and with the addition, generally, -of some free silica. If the clay be good in working quality and colour, -the next point the potter has to look to is the question of its -fusibility. It may be said generally that the simpler the constitution -of a silicate, that is the smaller the number of bases that it contains, -the greater will be its resistance to fire. Silicate of alumina is -unaltered at 1500° C., a temperature which may be taken as the maximum -at the command of the potter. The fusing-point is reduced by the -addition of silica, especially if some other bases such as oxide of iron -or lime, or again an alkali, are present even in small quantity. But -beyond a certain point the addition of silica raises the fusing-point, -and it is important to note that it is this excess of silica that -renders certain stonewares and fire-clays so infusible. In the case of -porcelain, on the other hand, the resistance to high temperatures -depends more upon the percentage of alumina present, and the absence or -small amount of other bases. Thus in comparing the composition of -different porcelains, we find that it is those that contain the most -silica that are the most fusible, or rather, to speak more accurately, -that become ‘porcelainised’ at a lower temperature.[3] - -The relation of porcelain to stoneware on the one hand, and to ordinary -pottery on the other, will be made clear by the following figures, which -give the composition of stoneware, Meissen porcelain, and of a red -Samian ware:-- - - Stoneware. Meissen Porcelain. Samian Ware. - - Silica, 80 per cent. 58 per cent. 61 per cent. - Alumina, 12 ” 36 ” 21 ” - Potash and Soda, 5 ” 5 ” 5 ” - Lime and Iron, 3 ” 1 ” 13 ” - -The refractory stoneware contains a large excess of silica over the -amount required to combine with the alumina and the ‘other bases.’ In -the easily fusible Roman pottery, the ‘other bases’ nearly equal in -amount the alumina, while the Meissen porcelain not only contains less -silica than the pottery, but the ‘other bases’ only amount to a sixth -part of the alumina present. - -But it is not enough for the manufacturer to discover a clay of which -the chemical composition corresponds to that of the type of porcelain -which he proposes to make. The question, as an experiment of Brongniart -long ago proved, is more complicated. Brongniart weighed out the -separate constituents for his porcelain--the silica, the alumina, and -the alkalis--and from them he formed his paste. He found, however, that -the paste readily melted at the heat of the porcelain furnace. The -analysis then of any ceramic product can give us but an imperfect clue -to the nature and properties of the ware. We want to know how the -elements are arranged, and this can only be inferred from a knowledge of -the materials employed in the manufacture. I will illustrate this point -by comparing the composition of Meissen porcelain with that of our -Dorsetshire pipe-clay, the most famous of our English clays, but a -material not sufficiently refractory for use in the manufacture of -porcelain. Both substances contain the same amount of alumina--36 per -cent.; in the Poole clay (after removing the water) there is 55 per -cent. of silica and 9 per cent. of ‘other bases,’ against 58 per cent. -and 6 per cent. respectively in the porcelain. The composition, -therefore, of the two bodies is nearly the same: the clay, while it -contains more iron-oxide and lime than the porcelain, is poorer in -silica. - -True porcelain has indeed never been made from any other materials than -those so long employed by the Chinese and first described by the -missionary, Père D’Entrecolles, nearly two hundred years ago. - -The two essential elements in the composition of porcelain are--(_a_) -The hydrated silicate of alumina, which is provided by the white earthy -clay known as kaolin or china-clay, a substance infusible at the highest -temperature attainable by our furnaces (about 1500° C.); (_b_) The -silicate of alumina and potash (or more rarely soda), that is to say -felspar. But the felspar is generally associated with some amount of -both quartz and mica, and is itself in a more or less disintegrated -condition. This is the substance known as petuntse or china-stone. It is -fusible at the higher temperatures of the porcelain kiln. - -Of those substances the first is an immediate product of the weathering -of the felspar contained in granitic rocks; while the second, the -petuntse, is nothing else than the granite (or allied rock) itself in a -more or less weathered condition. - -We see, then, that speaking generally, granite is the source of both the -materials whose intimate mixture in the state of the finest comminution -constitutes the paste of porcelain. It thus happens that it is only in -regions of primitive rocks, far away as a rule from centres of industry -and indeed from the usual sources of the clay used for fictile ware, -that the materials essential for making porcelain are found. By the term -granite we mean here a crystalline rock consisting of felspar, quartz, -and mica, and we include in the term gneiss, which differs only in the -arrangement of its constituents. The many varieties of rock that are -named as sources of kaolin and petuntse, such as pegmatite, graphic -granite, or growan-stone, are as a rule varieties of granite[4] -distinguished by containing little or no mica, and above all by the -absence of iron in appreciable quantity. As felspar is also the sole or -at least the principal element in the glaze with which porcelain is -covered, it will be seen that it is the mineral with which we are above -all concerned. - -Now, of the three minerals that enter into the constitution of these -granitic rocks (the others are quartz and mica), felspar is the one -most easily acted on by air and water. The carbonic acid which is always -present in the surface-water gradually removes the alkaline constituents -in the form of soluble carbonates, the silicate of alumina which remains -takes up and combines with a certain quantity of water, and in this form -it is washed down into hollows to form the beds of white crumbly clay -known as kaolin. This is, of course, a somewhat general and theoretical -statement of what happens. If we were to examine the actual position and -geological relation to the surrounding rocks of the beds of kaolin in -Cornwall and in the south-west of France, there might be some exceptions -to be made and difficulties to explain. Where, indeed, as in many places -in Cornwall, the kaolinisation has extended to great depth, the -decomposition may have been caused by deep-seated agencies; in such -cases the kaolin is often associated with minerals containing fluorine -and boron.[5] - -As for the other constituent of porcelain, the petuntse or china-stone, -we have called it a disintegrated granite, and this is the condition in -which it is usually excavated. It corresponds to the French _cailloux_, -the stony or gravelly material as opposed to the clay. In French works -it is not generally distinguished from felspar, and indeed some -varieties of petuntse may contain little else. However, if pure felspar -is used, the second constituent in granite or in petuntse, I mean -quartz, will have to be added to our porcelain paste in the form of sand -or powdered flint. The third constituent of the china-stone, the mica, -is usually neglected: in many cases the mother rock contains but little, -and what there is is eliminated in the washing. Mica is more fusible -than felspar; the white variety, muscovite, is practically free from -iron, and only from granite rocks containing this variety can petuntse -suitable for the manufacture of porcelain be obtained. The importance of -mica as an element of the Chinese petuntse has only recently been -recognised (Vogt, _Comptes Rendus_, 1890, p. 43). As much as 40 per -cent. of muscovite has been found in samples brought from China. The -pegmatite of the Limoges district, on the other hand, contains only 30 -per cent. of this white mica, and of this only a small portion passes -into the paste. We have here, perhaps, the principal cause of the -greater hardness and the higher softening-point of European compared -with Oriental porcelain. - -We shall see later on that this softer Chinese paste has many -advantages, especially in its relation to the glaze and the enamels, but -for the present we will continue to take the more ‘severe’ European -porcelain as our type. - -Let us consider what takes place during the firing of a paste of this -latter description. After all the water, including that in combination -in the kaolin, has been driven off, we have, as the temperature rises, -an intimate mixture of two silicates, one of which, if heated alone, -would be unaltered by any temperature at our command--this is the -silicate of alumina derived from the kaolin; while the other is a -fusible silicate of alumina and potash. There is also present a certain -amount of free silica. There is reason to believe that at a certain -point a chemical reaction takes place between these constituents, -accompanied by a local rapid rise of temperature in the materials, the -rise being due to this reaction. As a result there is a rearrangement of -the molecules of the mass, although no complete fusion takes place. It -is now, says M. Vernadsky (_Comptes Rendus_, 1890, p. 1377)--we are now -following the account of his experiments--that the sub-crystalline -rods--the baculites of which we have already spoken--are formed. M. -Vernadsky claims to have separated these rods from the glassy base by -means of hydrofluoric acid, in which the former were insoluble. He found -them to consist of a very basic silicate of alumina, containing as much -as 70 per cent. of that earth, while the glassy base was chiefly -composed of silica in combination with the potash and with a small -quantity of alumina. In their optical properties the crystals or -baculites resemble the mineral known as sillimanite, a natural silicate -of alumina. - -This is all that scientific research has so far been able to tell us of -the intimate constitution of porcelain; but as far as it goes, it is -evidence in favour of our claim that we are dealing with a definite -substance, _sui generis_, and not merely with a casual mixture of -certain superior kinds of clay, something, as we have said, between -glass and stoneware. - -There are certain other elements that enter at times into the -composition of porcelain--magnesia, which may have been added to the -paste in the form either of steatite or magnesite; and lime, derived -either from gypsum or chalk. These additions generally tend to increase -the fusibility of the paste, especially when accompanied by an -additional dose of silica; but as their presence is not essential we are -not concerned with these substances here. - -The glazes used for porcelain are as a rule distinguished by their -comparative infusibility and by their containing no lead. The -composition of these glazes follows more or less that of the paste that -they cover, with such modifications, however, as to allow of a somewhat -lower fusing-point: as in the case of the paste, there is a harder and -more refractory, and a softer and more fusible, type. The harder glazes -are composed essentially of felspar, with the addition in most cases of -silica, kaolin, and powdered fragments of porcelain. At Sèvres, a -natural rock, pegmatite, consisting chiefly of felspar, has been melted -to form a glaze without further addition. Of late years, however, the -introduction of a milder type of porcelain has necessitated the use of a -more fusible glaze, containing a considerable quantity of lime, and it -is a glaze of this latter type that has with few exceptions found favour -in other districts where porcelain is made. - -We have attempted in this chapter to give some idea of the nature of -porcelain from a physical and chemical point of view, and in doing so -have taken as our type the hard, refractory paste of Europe. When we -come to describe the porcelain of the Chinese, we shall notice some -important divergences from this type. We say nothing here of the -soft-paste porcelains, seeing that so long as we confine ourselves to -the question of chemical composition and physical properties, they lie -entirely outside our definitions. It is only from the point of view of -its history and of its artistic qualities that this group has any claim -to the name of porcelain. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE MATERIALS: MIXING, FASHIONING, AND FIRING - - -It would be quite foreign to the scope and object of this book to -attempt to describe in any detail the different processes that come into -play in the manufacture of a piece of porcelain. There is the less cause -for any such detailed treatment, inasmuch as the operations involved in -the preparation of the paste and in the subsequent potting and firing do -not essentially differ in the case of porcelain from those employed in -the manufacture of other classes of pottery. The differences are rather -those of degree--greater care is necessary in the selection of the -materials, and these materials must be more finely ground and more -intimately mixed. Again, the great heat required in the kilns -necessitates, in the firing of porcelain, many precautions that are not -called for in the case of earthenware or fayence. Without, however, some -slight acquaintance with the processes of the manufacture, it would be -impossible to avoid an amateurish and somewhat ‘anecdotal’ treatment of -our subject. There are, indeed, many intimate features, many delicate -shades of difference that distinguish the wares of various times and -places, both in Europe and in the East, which can only be rationally -explained by reference to the details of the manufacture. - -At the present day there is only one district in Europe where true -porcelain is manufactured on a large scale. This district lies on the -western and south-western border of the central granitic plateau of -France, especially in the Limousin and in Berry. Again at Sèvres, for -the last hundred years and more, a succession of able chemists has -carried on a series of experiments on the composition and preparation of -porcelain. It is no wonder, then, if we find that the literature -concerned with these practical departments is almost entirely French. -One result of this is a greater richness in technical terms than with -us. We find in France names for the various implements and processes of -the potter’s art, that are something better than the workshop terms of -the local potter. Again, the little that has been written in England -upon the technology of pottery has been concerned chiefly with -earthenware of Staffordshire.[6] - -As for the English soft-paste porcelain of the eighteenth century, there -is a remarkable dearth of information both as to its composition and as -to its manufacture. We know in fact in much greater detail how the great -potteries at King-te-chen were carried on at the same period, thanks to -the letters of the Père D’Entrecolles, and to the information collected -in Dr. Bushell’s great work, _Oriental Ceramic Art_ (New York, 1899. I -shall always quote from the text edition). - -The following technical notes are based chiefly on the processes in use -either at Sèvres or in the great factories of the Limoges district.[7] -To begin with the Kaolin, the ‘premier’ element in the composition of -porcelain. The greatest care is taken to procure a pure white clay which -should approach as near as possible to the more or less theoretical -mineral kaolinite, _i.e._ to a hydrous silicate of alumina. With this -object the rough china-clay brought from the pit is thrown into a large -tank of water and broken up with wooden spades; the milky liquid is now -decanted into a second tank, leaving behind most of the quartz and the -other stony particles. On its way the soup-like liquid passes through -the meshes of a sieve--these may be formed either of brass wire or -sometimes of finely woven silk. On this sieve all but the finest -particles are retained. The greater part of the kaolin is deposited in -this second tank, but a certain portion still remains suspended in the -liquid, which is again decanted; the remaining kaolin then settles down -in the third tank, yielding the finest clay. To dry this slimy mass, it -is first forced by hydraulic pumps into canvas bags, and these bags are -then pressed between fluted wooden trays, strongly clamped together. We -have now got a white chalky mass which may contain as much as 98 per -cent. of the hydrated silicate of alumina. - -The other materials, the china-stone[8] and the quartz, have first to be -reduced to the finest powder. To effect this they may, to begin with, be -roasted to effect disintegration, then crushed in a stone-breaking -machine, and finally passed through the grinding-pan in which they are -ground fine between large blocks of chert which rotate upon a pavement -of the same stone. The finely ground materials have now to be mixed in -suitable proportions either by the old process of ‘slop-blending,’ where -the different ‘slops,’ each of known specific gravity, are run in due -proportion into the big ‘blending ark,’ or, as is now usual in the case -of fine wares, by weighing out the materials in a dry state. On the -relative amounts of the three elements, the china-clay, the china-stone, -and the quartz, the nature of the porcelain after firing will depend. M. -Vogt (_La Porcelaine_, Paris, 1893) gives a useful table showing the -limits within which the materials may be varied. We may note that in the -case of a normal china-stone or petuntse being used instead of felspar, -very little additional quartz is required. These limits are: kaolin, 35 -to 65 per cent.; felspar, 20 to 40 per cent.; and quartz, 15 to 25 per -cent. The larger the percentage of the first material, the harder and -more refractory will be the resultant porcelain. - -This question of the composition of the paste has been the subject of -many experiments lately at Sèvres. A somewhat animated discussion has -raged around it. M. Vogt, who is the director of the technical -department in the National Porcelain Works, is well qualified to speak -on the subject. We shall not hesitate then to avail ourselves of the -conclusions which he arrives at, the more so as they put tersely some -important points of which we shall see the importance later on. I refer -especially to the relations of the glazes and the coloured decorations -to the subjacent paste. - -These are, then, the results that M. Vogt arrives at:-- - -The two extreme types of porcelain, one with 65 per cent. of kaolin and -the other with only 35 per cent., when taken from the kiln do not differ -in appearance, though one has been subject to a temperature of 1500° C. -to ensure vitrification and the other to only 1350° C. Their physical -properties, however, are very different. The first, rich in alumina -derived from the excess of kaolin, stands without injury variations of -temperature, it suits well with a glaze made from felspar, a glaze hard -enough to resist the point of a knife. These are excellent qualities for -domestic use, but such porcelain does not lend itself well to artistic -decoration. At the high temperature required in this case in the -firing, the colours of the paste and of the glazes assume dull and tame -hues, so as to offer little resource to the artist. In a word, in that -part of the decoration that has to be subjected to the full heat of the -kiln, the artist has command only of a restricted and relatively dull -palette. Again, in the decoration of the muffle-stove the vitrifiable -enamels do not become incorporated with the glaze on which they rest. If -a decoration in opaque or translucent enamels is attempted, these -enamels are apt to split off, carrying with them a part of the glaze. To -sum up: the porcelain of which the hard paste of Sèvres, introduced by -Brogniart, may be regarded as a type, though excellent for domestic use, -is incapable of receiving a brilliant decoration. - -Porcelain of the second type, more silicious and less aluminous, is -fired at a lower temperature. In order to get a glaze sufficiently -fusible to melt at such a temperature to a fine uniform surface, it is -necessary to introduce a certain amount of lime into its composition; by -this the glaze is rendered at the same time a little softer. But now the -lower temperature of the fire will allow of a greater variety and -greater brilliancy in the colours either combined with or used under the -glaze. When we come to the muffle-fire we can employ enamels of the -widest range of colour, yielding a brilliant decoration. On the other -hand, this type of porcelain offers less resistance than the other to -the action of hard bodies and to rapid changes of temperature--enough -resistance, however, so M. Vogt thinks, for all ordinary usages. It is -to this type that the porcelain of China, and Japan, as well as the ‘new -porcelain’ of Sèvres belongs. The latter comes nearer to the porcelain -of the East than any other European ware. Finally, M. Vogt points out -that most of the other European porcelains, those made in the Limoges -district, in Germany and in Denmark, are of an intermediate type, and -that they allow the use of either a felspathic or of a calcareous glaze -(Vogt, _La Porcelaine_, pp. 144 _seq._).[9] - -To return to our raw materials, which we may now suppose to be weighed -out in a dry state in the required proportions. These are once more -thoroughly mixed with water to form the slip or _barbotine_, which is -again passed through a fine sieve. To remove any particles of iron which -may have come from the machinery or elsewhere, and which if allowed to -remain would form unsightly stains on the finished ware, it is usual to -pass the slip at this stage through a vessel in which a number of -horse-shoe magnets are suspended. In some of the large French factories -a more complicated machine is used for this purpose. The superfluous -water has now to be removed either by evaporation or by pressure between -canvas bags in the manner described above. The paste may then be passed -through a pug-mill to render it uniform in consistency. - -A curious question arises with regard to the prepared clay. There was -formerly a widespread idea, which may contain an element of truth, that -instead of handing the clay at once to the potter, it should be kept, -under certain conditions, for a long space of time that it may undergo a -process of ‘aging’ and fermentation. By the ‘aging,’ the working -qualities, especially of a ‘short’ or non-plastic paste (such as that in -use at Sèvres in the eighteenth century, in making the _pâte tendre_), -were doubtless increased, the more so when the clay was at intervals -subjected to fresh kneading and watering. With regard to the long -periods for which the clay was kept by the Chinese, the most exaggerated -statements were formerly made. Mr. William Burton is of opinion that -there may be in some cases an evolution of carbonic acid and -sulphuretted hydrogen when natural plastic clays are used, for these may -contain both vegetable remains and small quantities of iron pyrites. But -the change, he thinks, is chiefly a physical one, due to the settling -down of the mass. Might there not also, I would suggest, be a change of -a more intimate nature, due to the formation of gelatinous silica and -perhaps also of fresh alkaline or other silicates, among these minutely -comminuted particles of various materials now freshly brought together? -We know very little of the conditions that give to natural clays their -peculiar unctuous quality and their plasticity. - -We come now to what has been called the ‘shaping’ of the clay, using -that word as an equivalent to the French _façonnage_ to include all the -processes, throwing on the wheel, turning of the lathe, ‘pressing’ and -‘casting,’ by which the desired form is given to the vessel. - -The POTTER’S WHEEL, perhaps the most ancient of all mechanical -contrivances, is still largely used in the shaping of porcelain, and -that, too, in a simple form which differs little from that employed -three or four thousand years ago in Egypt,[10] and perhaps for nearly as -long a period in China. From an æsthetic standpoint, the wheel holds the -same relation to the art of the potter as the brush does to that of the -painter. It is perhaps a just cause of reproach against that branch of -the ceramic art with which we are now concerned, that so comparatively -little use is made of the potter’s wheel. Not only in Europe, but for -long ages in China also, the use of the wheel, for many classes of -vessels, has been replaced by various processes of moulding. With us, -but not in the East, a third process, that of ‘casting’ with liquid -slip, is largely used. But when made either by casting or moulding, the -hand of the potter is not seen in the shape of the finished vessel. By -means of the wheel alone do we get the full expression of the peculiar -qualities of a plastic material. This was recognised by the Greeks, when -the potter who made the vase signed his name by the side of the painter -who decorated it. This it is that gives a certain charm to the roughest -earthenware which we may look for in vain in the most elaborately -decorated specimen of either Chinese or European porcelain. - -The clay as it comes from the filter-presses or from the drying-beds is -subjected to a series of kneading processes to ensure uniformity of -texture. The last of these is the ‘slapping,’ when the clay is made up -into hollow balls, and thrown vigorously on to a board until all bubbles -and irregularities of texture are removed. - -The thrower’s wheel is essentially a revolving vertical spindle, with a -small round table at the top, beside which the thrower sits. The clay is -handed to him in balls, and he throws it upon the whirling table between -his knees. The table is put into motion either directly by the pressure -of the workman’s foot on a lower table, or by some arrangement of straps -and pedals. If the movement is given by the potter himself, as is still -the case at Sèvres, and to some extent in China, there is the advantage -that a more delicate and intimate control of the speed is possible. The -movement of the clay under the potter’s hand is instinctively regulated -by him. Every one has seen and marvelled at the wonderful process. The -clay is first drawn up into a pillar, and then depressed into a flat -cake, so that the circular arrangement of the particles may spread -through the whole mass. The thrower then opens the hollow of the vessel -with his thumbs, and proceeds to give it the desired shape, moistening -his hands at intervals by dipping them into the slip. Small pieces are -shaped between the thumb and first finger, either of one or of both -hands. For larger pieces the whole hand and wrist is called into play, -with the assistance, it may be, of a sponge. Still larger vessels are -built up by piling on to the circular edge as it revolves strips of the -clay. Delicacy of hand is of the greatest importance--the pressure -applied and the movements of the fingers must be regulated by the nature -of the clay, and especially by its greater or lesser plasticity. It is -essential that the workman should not only press evenly and steadily on -the clay as it rises, but that the speed of the rotation should have a -definite relation to the rate at which he raises his hands. With a ‘fat’ -or unctuous clay especially any irregularity of pressure will betray -itself, and the marks will be more prominent after firing. This is the -origin of the spiral ridges that we often see on the surface not only of -common earthenware, but sometimes of high-class porcelain. To this cause -are due the rings so characteristic of Plymouth porcelain; this -‘wreathing’ or ‘_vissage_’ is sometimes seen on Chinese porcelain also. - -When the thrower has finished his vessel, it is cut off from the table -by a piece of thread or by a brass wire, and taken to the stoveroom to -dry and harden. When sufficiently dry the vessel is placed on a lathe, -and the turner shaves off all superfluous clay. The finer mouldings -(using the word here in its architectural sense) may also be given at -this stage, and sometimes the surface is shaped by a ‘profile’ of steel -(it may be a piece from the blade of an old saw), which cuts the -surface down to the desired shape. The shavings are carefully preserved -and returned to the slip-house, to be blended with the new clay, the -working qualities of which are thereby improved. - -There are certain parts, especially handles, spouts, and projecting -ornaments, which must in all cases be separately moulded. The foot also, -in the case of large vases, is separately prepared and subsequently -attached. These parts are made in plaster moulds by the ‘handler,’ whose -duty it now is to fix them to the vase. Carefully marking the exact -place, he spreads on it a thin layer of slip with a spatula, and then -presses home the handle or other appendage. Should, however, the two -surfaces be dry and absorbent, it may be necessary to add some gum to -the slip thus employed. A similar process, but one requiring greater -care and skill, is that of fixing together the separate pieces of large -vases and figures. This is done in the way we have already described in -the case of the handles and spouts--that is by applying a coating of -slip to the parts to be joined. - -It is at this stage that any decorations in relief that may be required -are applied to the surface. These are often made in flat moulds, and to -fix them it is enough to run a little water from a camel’s hair pencil -behind the ornament after adjusting it to its proper place. These -processes of fitting on of appendages and ornaments are included by the -French under the term _garniture_. - -MOULDING AND PRESSING.--It is evident that only vessels of a cylindrical -or conical form, or, more exactly, such as have a circular section when -divided horizontally, can be formed on the wheel. To produce any other -form, the vessel must be either shaped directly by the hand or made in -some kind of mould. The use of moulds for pottery is as old, if not -older than that of the wheel. It was in this way that the _Ushabti_ -figures of the old Egyptians were made, and many of these date back to -the Early Empire. So in China, the further back we go, the more the use -of moulds seems to have prevailed. I take from the excellent article on -the manufacture of pottery in the _Penny Cyclopædia_ the following -account of the process in use in England at the beginning of the last -century:-- - -‘The mould is made in two parts, and each is separately filled by laying -in a cake of clay which has been beaten out to the proper thickness on a -wet plaster-block; it is pressed into the mould by repeated blows from a -ball of wet sponge, then squeezed into all the angular parts and -smoothed with sponge, wet leather, and horn. When both sides of the -moulds are thus lined with clay, they are joined together, and the man -lays a roll of clay along the inside of the joining, which he works down -until the whole is smooth and solid.’ The mould is then carried into a -stoveroom, and the plaster here absorbs the moisture so as to release -the clay. The contents are carefully taken out, and the empty mould -returned to the stove previous to being filled again. The seam that -remains on the outside of vessels after fitting the two parts -together[11] is removed by scraping and burnishing with wet horn; the -handles and other appendages are then attached. - -This is the process that is called ‘hollow-ware pressing’ or -‘squeezing.’ In ‘flat-ware pressing’ the mould is used to give the shape -to the inside of the vessel only. The mould is placed on the extremity -of the ‘whirler,’ a vertical revolving spindle provided with a circular -table, similar to that of the thrower’s wheel. The plate-maker takes a -cake of clay, which he has previously flattened out with his ‘batter,’ -places it on the mould, and presses down with his hand. The upper -surface of the cake of clay (what will ultimately be the bottom of the -plate) is now shaped by an earthenware ‘profile.’ The mould is now taken -off the whirler and at once replaced by another. Flat-ware, especially -when greater finish is required, is also made in a double mould, and the -clay may then be first thrown on the wheel so as to approximate to the -shape required before being placed in the mould. - -Processes very similar to the hollow and flat-ware pressing are largely -used by the Chinese. Dr. Bushell has unearthed a passage from a -technical work, written in the time of the Chou dynasty, more than two -thousand years ago, in which a distinction is made between the ordinary -potters who worked with the wheel, and the moulders who made oblong -bowls and sacrificial dishes. In a somewhat later work (19-90 A.D.) the -writer notes both the advantage resulting from regularity of size, and -the obstacles arising from the shrinkage of the parts in firing, when -vessels are made in moulds.[12] - -CASTING.--There is yet another process which is largely resorted to in -European works, but which appears to be unknown to the Chinese. It -depends upon the rapidity with which dry plaster of Paris will absorb -the water from a slip of creamy consistency, without allowing any of the -solid particles to pass along with the water absorbed. The slip-mixture -is poured into the plaster mould, which at once absorbs the water, -leaving a uniform deposit upon the surface of the mould. After pouring -or otherwise drawing off the water, a second and thicker slip may be -added so as to form a second layer. The paste of the porcelain so -prepared is likely to be of a lighter and more porous consistency than -when made by throwing or pressing. This process was used in the -eighteenth century at Derby, and doubtless elsewhere, and it was -preferred to moulding for making statuettes. Some account of it is given -by Haslem, a good practical authority, in his _Old Derby China_. For -small objects, ‘casting’ has long been employed in France, and more -lately Ebelmen and Regnault have so improved the process, that vessels -of all shapes and dimensions are made by it. This has been rendered -possible by the introduction of compressed air into the interior of the -vessel, by which means the paste is kept in position until it is -sufficiently dry to support itself. A still better way of doing this is -to exhaust the air _on the outside_, by placing the mould in an -air-pump; the upper part can then be left open, and the whole operation -is under the eye of the workman. M. Vogt (_La Porcelaine_, pp. 157 -_seq._) laments that in France the increased use of these mechanical -processes had so reduced the demand for skilful potters, that the race -is nearly extinct. - -FIRING AND FURNACES.--So far in our treatment of the operations involved -in the manufacture of porcelain, the same general description has been -applicable, with trifling exceptions, to the processes in use both in -Europe and in the far East, and to soft as well as to hard paste. But -now that we have to describe the firing of the ware, a division into -three classes is necessary:-- - -1st. The Chinese system. This is the simplest plan. The glaze is applied -at once to the air-dried ware, which is then subjected to but one -firing--that of the ‘_grand feu_.’ - -2nd. The French system for hard paste. The unglazed vessel is exposed to -a heat varying from dull to full red, generally in the dome over the -main body of the furnace. It is then glazed, and again fired to the full -point required by the paste. This is essentially a French process, and -the preliminary fire is known as the _feu dégourdi_. - -3rd. The English system used for bone pastes. In this case it is the -first firing that is the most severe. The ‘biscuit oven,’ therefore, in -which this is effected, must not be confused with the _feu dégourdi_ -just mentioned. After dipping, the ware is heated again in the ‘glozing’ -or glazing oven, but only to a temperature sufficient to melt the glaze. - -In the case of ware decorated with enamel colours over the glaze, there -will be required in all these cases one or more additional firings at -comparatively low temperatures in the muffle-stove. - -The furnaces, ovens, or kilns in which porcelain is fired are always of -the reverberatory type; that is to say, the fuel is burned in a separate -chamber or fireplace, and the products of combustion pass over or among -the ware that is being fired. Such furnaces differ on the one hand from -the arrangement in a blast furnace, or that often used in the burning of -bricks, where the fuel is mixed with the material to be heated, and on -the other hand from the muffle-stove, where the object exposed to the -heat is protected from the direct flame by the box of fireclay or iron -in which it is placed. - -Kilns of many shapes and sizes have been used for firing porcelain, but -they may most of them be included in one or the other of the following -broad classes. - -1st. The old bee-hive ovens of China, the use of which appears to have -been abandoned in that country by the end of the seventeenth century. -These ovens were generally small, in some cases only holding one vase. A -row of them may be heated from one fireplace, and they are then built on -a rising slope. This type has survived to the present day in Japan. - -2nd. The oblong horizontal furnaces, often of considerable dimensions, -used during the present dynasty in China. They resemble in section the -ordinary type of reverberatory furnace found in metallurgical works. A -very similar form was long employed at Meissen. - -3rd. The large conical furnaces, now in general use in the porcelain -factories of Europe. They may be heated by either direct or by reversed -flame.[13] - -In China the fuel is generally pinewood, in billets of uniform size. In -many European kilns wood is still used: birchwood, cut in lengths of -fifteen to twenty inches, is the only fuel used at the present day at -Sèvres. In England, however, the difficulties attendant on the use of -coal appear to have been overcome. - -The reader will find in the third volume of Brongniart’s great work -(_Traité des Arts Céramiques_, Paris, 1877) several plates giving plans -and sections of all these types of furnaces. From a careful examination -of these engravings more is to be learned than from any amount of verbal -description. A thorough grasp of the process of firing is of the -greatest assistance in understanding the problems and difficulties that -arise in the manufacture of porcelain, and we shall have to return to -the subject when we come to treat of the several wares. - -Whatever differences there may be in the shape of the furnaces, when it -comes to filling the interior with the ware to be baked, there is one -precaution which has been adopted in nearly every country.[14] The ware -must be protected from the direct heat of the flame by means of a case -of fireclay in which it is placed. These are the seggars (French -_cassettes_; the process of filling and arranging them is called -_encastage_), to the preparation of which so important a department has -to be set apart in all porcelain works, and whose manufacture adds so -much to the working expenses. - -The seggar proper is a cylindrical pan of fireclay, in shape and size -like a hatbox. They are piled, in the furnace, one over the other, and -these piles or ‘bungs’ are arranged in the furnace so as to allow a -free circulation of the hot gases between them, but otherwise they are -packed as closely together as possible. These seggars may be used -several times over. When broken, the fragments are ground up and mixed -with fresh fireclay or _argile-plastique_ to form new cases--without -this addition the clay would be too plastic or ‘fat’ for the purpose. -The greatest precautions are taken in the packing of the seggars in the -furnace. The giving way of one pile from any inaccuracy in the -arrangement may destroy the contents of the whole oven. So again -infinite care must be taken in the arrangement and support of the -objects in each seggar. The bottom is covered with ground flint or other -infusible material, and the vessel is supported, when necessary, by -various forms of struts, props, or crow-claws, which sometimes leave -their mark on the base or side of the finished object. In spite of these -precautions, a large quantity of defective pieces or ‘wasters’ are -produced in all works, and these are usually cast aside. The finding of -such fragments in after days is sometimes the only proof we have that -porcelain or pottery has formerly been made at the spot. But the proof -is final, for defective pieces and ‘crow-claws’ are not objects likely -to have been imported from a distance. Again, the indelible marks left -on the porcelain, either on the edge which rested directly on the seggar -or at the points where the object was supported by the crow-claws, often -give valuable hints as to the _provenance_ of the piece in question.[15] -In the case of valuable wares these rough edges and marks are removed as -far as possible by grinding on a small wheel, and then polishing the -surface with pumice or with putty. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -GLAZES - - -Before attacking the somewhat complicated subject of the nature and -composition of glazes, it will be well to take up again the thread of -the mechanical processes that are involved in the making of a piece of -porcelain. - -The materials that enter into the glaze are reduced to the finest powder -in mills similar to those in which the china-stone and flint are ground -for the preparation of the paste. If any substance soluble in water, -such as borax or salts of the alkalis, enter into the composition of the -glaze, these must be first partially fused in combination with the other -materials to form a _frit_, a kind of imperfect glass. These frits, -which enter so largely into the composition of soft-paste porcelain, are -formed with the object of bringing the soluble constituents into an -insoluble form before mixing with water to form the slip. There are -indeed other practical reasons that render a preliminary partial fusion -desirable. - -The finely ground elements of the glaze, mixed in due proportion, are -worked up with water to form a creamlike slip into which the vessel to -be glazed is now dipped. In China, in many cases, the glaze-slip is -blown upon the surface in the form of a spray. This is done by means of -a bamboo tube, covered at one end by a piece of silk gauze, through -which the liquid is projected by the breath of the operator (French, -_insufflation_); in other cases the glaze may be painted on with a -brush. In China, as we have mentioned, the glaze-slip is generally -applied to the raw surface of the thoroughly dried but unbaked ware, but -in other countries there is, almost without exception, a preliminary -firing of greater or less degree to produce a biscuit. - -We shall restrict the use of the word glaze to the vitreous coating -applied directly to the surface of the raw paste or of the biscuit to -enhance the decorative effect of the ware, and with the more prosaic -object of allowing the surface to be easily kept clean. In the case of -porcelain this coating is always more or less transparent.[16] There is -here no necessity for concealing the natural white colour of the paste. -In the case of many kinds of pottery, however, as in the ‘enamelled -fayence’ of Delft and Italy, the glaze is rendered opaque by the -addition of oxide of tin, so that the ill-favoured ground is concealed -by a white shiny surface which may be made to resemble closely the -natural surface of porcelain. A glaze of this kind is often called an -enamel, but as we are not concerned with such an expedient we shall -confine the use of that word to the various forms in which a vitreous -decoration, whether translucent or opaque, is _superimposed upon the -glaze_ and fused into it, more or less thoroughly, by a subsequent -firing in a muffle furnace. - -The English word ‘glaze’ is only another form of the word ‘glass,’ and -we may say at once that, in composition at least, there is often little -difference between the two substances. The French word for ‘glaze’ is -_couverte_ or _vernis_; the last term applies well to the thin skin of -glaze found on Greek pottery. The Chinese have several expressions, but -it is a curious fact that the characters with which most of these terms -are written contain the radical for ‘oil,’ and indeed the word ‘oil’ -itself is often used in the sense of ‘glaze.’ - -Mr. Rix puts it well when he says that the glaze is to the enameller of -porcelain what his canvas is to the painter; while in the case of a -decoration ‘_sous couverte_,’ the glaze corresponds to the varnish -which, while protecting his work, gives brilliancy to the colouring -(_Journal of Society of Arts_, vol. xli.). It is, moreover, the vehicle -by which the design is harmonised and rendered mellow. The effect is -produced at once and endures practically for all time. - -The hardness and fusibility of glazes differ widely, and they are -conditioned by the nature of the wares that they cover. It is evident -that there must be a close relation between the fusing-points of paste -and glaze, and that the latter should be the more fusible of the two. -The difference of melting-point should, however, not be too great. The -melted glaze should rather, by penetrating into the already softened -paste or by a chemical action upon its surface, form a more or less -uniform mass with it. In cooling, the contraction of the glaze should -follow that of the subjacent paste. This is a most important point; any -discordance may lead to splitting, cracking, and ‘crazing.’ - -The beauty of the surface of porcelain depends on the fact that the -glaze has become intimately united with the paste during the long -exposure of both to a high temperature. We should not be conscious, in -regarding a fine specimen of porcelain, of a greater or less thickness -of glass covering an opaque substance; we should rather see in it the -polished surface of ivory or of some precious marble. - -It would seem that it was the beauty of the glassy surface, enhancing -the brilliancy of the colouring, rather than any practical advantage -connected with its use, that first led to the application of glaze to -pottery. The turquoise and green glazes of the Egyptians (the colour is -derived from a silicate of copper along with soda and sometimes lime) -were known to the men of the Early Empire. They were applied to a -fritlike mass of sand held together by silicate of soda, to which the -name of porcelain has sometimes been very wrongly given. Objects of -steatite, of slate, and even of rock crystal were sometimes covered with -a coloured glaze of this kind, but it was never applied to the clay -vessels in daily use. These were made, then as now, from the unctuous -clay of the Nile bank. For this restriction there was a very good -reason, namely that a glaze of this nature, composed chiefly of alkaline -silicates, will not adhere to a base of ordinary clay. It was not until -Ptolemaic and Roman times that, by the discovery or adoption of a glaze -containing lead, the ancients were enabled to glaze their pottery. So in -Assyria, the employment of glazes was almost confined to the decoration -of the surface of brickwork, the bricks being of a loose and somewhat -sandy texture.[17] - -In these glazes, and indeed in much earlier examples from Babylonia, -both tin and lead have been found. The respective virtues of the -silicates of these metals were doubtless appreciated, that of tin to -form a white opaque enamel hiding the material below, and that of lead -to enable the glaze into which it enters to adhere to a paste formed of -a plastic clay. - -With the Chinese the aim was rather æsthetic than practical. They sought -by means of the marvellous glazes that cover their ancient porcelain to -imitate the surface of natural stones; their early celadons were in a -measure intended to take the place of the precious green jade, so highly -esteemed by them. - -At the time when the manufacture of porcelain was first introduced from -China there were (apart from the salt-glazed stoneware, which lies quite -outside our inquiry) three classes of glaze in general use either in -Europe or in the nearer East:-- - -1. Glazes consisting essentially of alkaline silicates without either -lead or tin. Such glazes could only be applied to a fritty silicious -base, and in India and Persia their employment seems to have been a -survival from Egyptian and Assyrian times.[18] - -2. Opaque enamel glazes, the opacity being due to the presence of tin; a -considerable amount of lead also is generally found in these glazes. We -are not concerned here with the obscure origin of this group, but in the -sixteenth century this enamelled fayence was in general use for the -better class of table-ware. It includes the Italian majolica, the French -fayence of Nevers and Rouen, and above all the earthenware of Delft. - -3. The oily-looking lead glazes with which the common earthenwares were -covered. These were essentially the glazes of the Middle Ages in Europe, -and their employment could probably be traced back to the lead-glazed -ware sparingly used by the Romans. We have already noticed the use of a -similar glaze in Egypt as far back probably as Ptolemaic times. - -There were practical objections to all these glazes. It is true that at -Delft, by the use of the tin enamel, a ware could be turned out closely -resembling, in external aspect, the blue and white porcelain of China, -but the enamel was soft and would in time chip off at the edges, showing -the dark earthy clay beneath. On the other hand, the alkaline glazes of -the East were not much known in Europe; they can only be used upon a -very tender and treacherous base. In India and Persia, however, a ware -thus glazed still competes with the hard porcelain of the Far East. In -spite of the great objections to the glazes of our third class, those -containing lead--objections arising from their softness and from the -danger of poisoning to those employed in their manufacture--their use -has tended rather to increase. Not only is lead the principal -constituent of the glazes still universally used for common pottery, but -it forms an important element in the glaze of our finer earthenwares as -well as in that of those bone pastes which rank with us as porcelain. - -The glaze which had been brought to perfection by the Chinese at an -early period differs from all those yet mentioned by its hardness, its -high fusing-point, and in its chemical composition. Speaking generally, -the glaze of porcelain differs in composition from the paste which it -covers only sufficiently to allow of its becoming completely liquid at -the extreme heat of the furnace; and just as the paste of Chinese -porcelain has a wider limit of variability than that made in Europe, but -is on the whole of a ‘milder’ type than the latter, so we find that -while the glazes of the Chinese are as a whole less refractory and not -quite so hard, there is still a wide range of variation in these -qualities. - -If, then, we theoretically regard porcelain as a compound of a silicate -of alumina with an alkaline silicate of the same base, we may say that -the glaze of porcelain is formed by the latter body alone, that it is, -in fact, merely a fused felspar. But as in the case of the paste, so in -the glaze there is generally present an excess of silica, derived from -the quartz contained in the petuntse or pegmatite, and this silica -enters into combination with some other bases which are present in the -constituents of the glaze, thereby increasing its fusibility and -modifying the contraction in cooling. The most important of these -additional bases is lime, so that the more fusible type may be called a -calcareous, as opposed to a more refractory or purely felspathic glaze. -As much as 21 per cent. of lime has been found in some Chinese glazes, -the amount of alumina being proportionately reduced. - -There is more or less lime in the glaze of most kinds of European hard -porcelain, but the exceptionally hard and refractory paste made at -Sèvres since the time of Brongniart is covered by a glaze of -corresponding hardness from which that earth is absent. This hard paste -has, however, of late been replaced in part by one of a milder type, and -with this latter a calcareous glaze has been adopted even at Sèvres, the -object of the change being, as we have said, to allow of a more -brilliant decoration. - -There is a perceptible difference in the aspect of these two types of -glazes after firing. The hard, non-calcareous glaze has a slightly milky -look. The softer calcareous type is more brilliant, and approaches in -transparence and limpidity to the lead glazes of soft porcelain. A glaze -of this last kind was used at Sèvres for a few years after the first -introduction of the hard paste, and perhaps also at Dresden in quite -early days. - -The principal objection to a hard refractory glaze, such as that so long -in use at Sèvres, arises from the difficulty of properly incorporating -the enamel colours with its body. The restriction of the number of -pigments that can be employed, both under and on the surface of the -glaze, in consequence of the high temperature at which the latter melts, -is another drawback. The dulness, the ‘painted on’ look of so much of -the decoration on European hard paste porcelain, is in great measure a -consequence of the employment of a glaze that is only softened at a high -temperature. As an example of a medium type of glaze we give the -composition of that used at Berlin in 1836. This consisted of kaolin, 31 -per cent.; quartz, 43 per cent.; gypsum, 14 per cent.; and ground -porcelain, 12 per cent. A glaze long in use at Dresden is of a very -similar character. Felspar, it will be seen, does not enter into its -composition, and such a glaze can contain but little potash or soda. -With this we may contrast the hard glaze of Sèvres, composed simply of -ground pegmatite, a rock consisting mainly of felspar. This glaze yields -on analysis 74 per cent. of silica, 17 per cent. of alumina, and as much -as 8 per cent. of potash. - -The glaze on Chinese porcelain is prepared by mixing certain special -varieties of petuntse with an impure lime, prepared by burning limestone -with dry fern as fuel. It contains, as we have seen, from 15 to 21 per -cent. of lime, 5 to 6 per cent. of alkalis, 11 per cent. of alumina, and -66 per cent. of silica. - -We give these examples to illustrate the principal types of glazes used -for hard paste porcelain. It will be noticed that the constituents are -drawn from widely different sources. - -The glazes of soft paste porcelain always contain a large amount both of -lead and of potash or soda, so that they approximate in composition to a -flint glass. The alkalis, generally introduced as carbonates, -necessitate a previous fritting of part at least of the materials. -Boracic acid plays an important part in the glaze of most modern English -wares: it is generally introduced in the form of borate of soda or -borax. This acid replaces in part the silica, just as in the paste the -glassy materials are replaced by bone-earth. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -DECORATION BY MEANS OF COLOUR - - -If we were treating the subject purely from a practical point of view, -with the glazing and firing of a piece of porcelain the manufacture -might be held to be terminated. This would be strictly true, for -instance, of the white porcelain of Berlin, so largely used in the -chemical laboratory; a great deal, too, of the china in domestic use -receives no decoration of any kind. But for us there remains still to -examine the element of colour and the way in which it is applied to the -decoration of porcelain. - -This is effected in three different ways: by the employment of coloured -glazes; by painting on the surface of the paste before the glaze is -applied (this is the decoration _sous couverte_); and finally by -coloured enamels applied to the surface of the glaze. These methods may -be combined, but as this is rarely the case, such a division forms the -basis of a convenient classification, more especially for the wares of -China and Japan. - -In the case of both the paste and of the glaze, we have been dealing -with a restricted group of elements, with alumina, lime, potash and -soda; and apart from impurities unintentionally introduced, all the -combinations of these bodies are colourless. We have now to consider the -effect of introducing certain of the heavy metallic bases which combine -with the excess of silica to form coloured silicates. - -The metals that give to Oriental porcelain its brilliant hues are few in -number. Indeed, in all lands and at all times, iron, copper, cobalt, and -manganese have been the principal sources of colour in the decoration -not only of porcelain, but of most other kinds of pottery. As equal to -these four metals in importance, but not strictly to be classed as -colouring materials, we may place tin, the source of most opaque whites, -and lead, which is the main fluxing element for our enamels. Next in -importance to these metals come antimony, long known to the Chinese as a -source of yellow, and finally, but this last only since the beginning of -the eighteenth century, gold, as the source of a red pigment.[19] This -exhausts the list, not only for the Far East, but for all the pottery of -Europe up to the end of the eighteenth century. - -It was in a period of artistic decline that the advance of chemical -knowledge led to the introduction of other colours, derived both from -new metallic bases and from fresh combinations of those already known. -By far the most important of these new colours are those derived from -the salts of chromium, but uranium and other rare metals have also been -called into use. As with the sister art of painting, the beauty and -harmony of the effects produced have not kept pace with the enlargement -of the palette--the result was rather to accentuate the decline that had -already set in from other causes. - -There are two metals, iron and copper, that have always been of -pre-eminent importance as sources of colour. Each of them forms two -series of combinations differing entirely in hue, so that were we -confined to the use of these two metals, our palette would still be a -fairly complete one. - -The protoxide of copper, especially when a certain amount of lime and -of soda is present, forms a series of beautiful blue and green -silicates. When the proportion of oxygen is decreased, as happens when -the surface of the ware is exposed in the kiln to a reducing flame, a -suboxide of copper is formed, which gives a deep and more or less opaque -red hue to the glaze. So in the case of iron, the so-called sesqui-oxide -is perhaps the most abundant source of colouring matter in the mineral -kingdom: the colours produced by it range from pale yellow to orange, -brown, and full red. When, however, the iron is present as a protoxide, -the colour given to the glaze is entirely altered; it ranges from a pale -sea-green to a deep olive. - -The remaining two elements that have long played an important part in -the decoration of pottery are cobalt and manganese. These metals, in the -form of silicates, yield the well-known series of blues and purples. One -important source of the famous underglaze blue of China and Japan is a -black mineral known to us as wad, which occurs in earthy to stony -concretions. This wad contains oxides of both cobalt and manganese, and -the quality of the blue obtained from it depends in great measure upon -the proportion in which the two metals occur. - -The employment of antimony is comparatively rare, but, generally in -combination with iron, it is an important source of yellow. In spite of -the volatile nature of most of its salts, in the presence of silica this -metal is able to withstand a high temperature. - -But before considering the application of colour to the glaze, we must -mention briefly a method of decoration which was in great favour at -Sèvres some years ago--I mean the application of colour to the paste -itself. This was done long ago by Wedgwood, sometimes to the whole mass -of the paste, as was the case with his jasper ware, which some -authorities class as a true porcelain. At Sèvres these coloured pastes -have been generally applied to the surface only, in thin layers, or even -as mere coats of paint. When laid on in successive coats, as in the -so-called _pâte-sur-pâte_, the amount of colouring matter need not be -large, from 2 to 5 per cent. When larger proportions of coloured oxides -are mixed with the _pâte_, and this is painted on with a brush, the -process differs little from the ordinary decoration under the glaze, -into which it indeed may be said to pass. Coloured pastes of this -description have never been employed by the Chinese, and it is not -possible to obtain much brilliancy or decorative effect by their use. -They are, indeed, foreign to the nature of porcelain, sacrificing the -brilliant white ground which should be the basis of all decorative -schemes. - -When the colouring matter is subjacent to the glaze it must be of a -nature to withstand the full heat of the subsequent firing; we are -restricted therefore to colours ‘_à grand feu_.’ This practically -confines us to cobalt and to certain combinations of iron and copper, as -far as the ‘old palette’ is concerned. At Sèvres and elsewhere other -metals have been made use of whose silicates withstand the extreme -temperature of the kiln. By the use of chromium we have command of many -shades of green. If to an oxide of tin we add a minute quantity of the -sesqui-oxide of chromium, we can obtain, in the presence of lime, many -shades from rose to purple; and a mixture of cobalt and chromium -produces a fine black. There is, however, as yet no satisfactory yellow -pigment known that will withstand the _grand feu_. At the best we can -get a straw colour from certain ores of tungsten and titanium, and from -uranium a yellow deeper in tint but uncertain in application. - -The majority of the colours we have mentioned require a more or less -oxidising flame for their full development. There are, however, two most -important groups of coloured glazes, long the monopoly of the Chinese, -but now successfully imitated in France and elsewhere, which require, -for a term at least, to be subjected to a reducing flame. - -The first of these glazes is the well-known CELADON, using that term in -its proper and restricted sense, for certain shades of greyish green. -The celadon of the Chinese is produced by the presence of a small -quantity, about two per cent., of protoxide of iron in the glaze. An -oxidising flame would change this protoxide to the yellow sesqui-oxide. -We may note that a celadon of good tint can only be produced when a -considerable quantity of lime is present in the glaze. - -The other group, depending also upon a reducing flame, is constituted by -the famous SANG DE BŒUF and FLAMBÉ glazes. - -The colour of the first is given by the red sub-oxide of copper, chiefly -suspended in the glaze. In the case of the _flambé_ or ‘transmutation’ -glazes, the strange caprices of colour have their origin, in part at -least, in the contrast of the red sub-oxide and the green silicate of -copper. In the case of both these glazes everything depends on the -regulation of the draught of the furnace in which they are fired. The -French have lately been at great pains to master the difficulties -attendant upon the development of the effects sought after, and some -success has been attained not only on a porcelain ground as at Sèvres, -but these glazes have also been applied to fayence at the Golfe St. Juan -and elsewhere. It has been proved by some experiments made at Sèvres, -that in the firing, the critical period, during which so much depends -upon the regulation of the draught, is _just before_ the melting of the -glaze. Once melted the glaze not only forms an impervious cover which -prevents the smoky flame from discolouring the paste below, but the -glaze itself is no longer sensitive to the action of the gases which -surround it. It is therefore only during a short period preceding the -moment when the glaze begins to melt, that it is necessary to promote a -smoky and reducing flame. This is a point of considerable practical -importance.[20] - -The application of the DECORATION UNDER THE GLAZE is essentially a -Chinese method. To it we owe the important family of ‘blue and white’ -ware. The superiority of the Chinese in the management of the blue -colour has been attributed to various causes. The result is no doubt -influenced not only by the constitution of both paste and glaze, but -also by the fact that the colour is painted upon the _raw_ paste. - -An important factor also is the care exercised by the Chinese in the -selection and preparation of the blue pigment, by which not only the -desired intensity but the richness of hue is secured. The quality of the -blue depends in great measure upon the presence of a small quantity of -manganese in the cobalt ore employed. - -The only other colour that the Chinese have succeeded in using under the -glaze is the red derived from the sub-oxide of copper. The full -development of this colour has for long been a lost art, but a less -brilliant red from this source, often little better than a buff colour, -is sometimes found in later examples combined with the blue. - -In the application of colours under the glaze there is one difficulty -that the Chinese have surmounted even in their commonest ware, and this -is the tendency of the cobalt blue to dissolve and ‘run’ in the glaze, -giving to the design a blurred and indistinct appearance. It would seem -that the sharpness of outline depends upon the consistency of the glaze -at the moment when it first melts. At that point the glaze should be -viscous and not inclined to flow, and this is what occurs in the case -of the highly calcareous glazes of the Chinese. - -Before passing to the enamel colours, we must say something of a class -of glazes which may be looked upon as to some extent of an intermediate -character. These are the glazes associated with the ‘San tsai,’ the -‘three colours’ first used in combination by the Chinese. - -These coloured glazes were applied, not, as is usually the case in -China, to the raw paste, but they were, it would seem, painted on the -surface after a preliminary firing. Being applied with a brush, the -whole surface of the biscuit was not necessarily covered, and glazes of -all these colours could be used upon the same piece of porcelain. Glazes -of this class were rendered more fusible by the addition of a certain -quantity of lead, and on this ground, and still more in their historical -relation, as we shall see later on, these ‘painted glazes’ may be -considered as a link connecting the old refractory glazes of the -monochrome and ‘blue and white’ wares on the one hand, with the fusible -enamels which were at a later time _superimposed_ upon the glaze on the -other. - -The three colours which are applied in this way by the Chinese are: (1) -A turquoise blue derived from copper with the addition of some soda or -potash. (2) The manganese purple, often described as aubergine. (3) A -yellow prepared from an iron ore containing some amount of antimony. -None of these colours would stand the full heat of the furnace, and for -a reason which will be explained further on, they are known as the -colours of the _demi grand feu_.[21] - -COLOURED ENAMELS. We have now to describe - -[Illustration: _PLATE II._ CHINESE MING PORCELAIN, BLACK GROUND] - -the decoration that is applied to the surface of the glaze. In these -coloured enamels the colouring matter is dissolved in a flux which -contains a large quantity of lead. The comparatively gentle heat at -which such enamels fuse allows of the use of a much larger palette than -is available for the decoration under the glaze. - -It is well to point out at the outset the marked distinction in -composition and in appearance between the brilliant enamels of the -Chinese and the dull tints of the ‘porcelain colours’ found in the hard -pastes of Meissen and Sèvres. To make clear the cause of this difference -it will be necessary to enter into some little detail. - -The colouring matter in the European enamels may amount to as much as a -third part of the total amount of the flux with which they are -incorporated. As there is not enough of this flux to dissolve the whole -of the oxides, the enamel remains dull and opaque after firing. The -flux, in fact, is only used as a vehicle to attach the colour to the -surface of the porcelain. The effect in consequence is inferior in -brilliancy to that obtained by the Chinese with their transparent -enamels in which the metallic oxides, present in much smaller quantity, -are thoroughly dissolved to form a glass. There is, unfortunately, a -practical obstacle to the application of these glassy enamels to the -hard pastes and glazes of Europe. It is impossible to ensure their firm -adhesion to the subjacent glaze. The Chinese, however, do not appear to -find any difficulty in effecting this. The following explanation has -been given to account for the difference of behaviour:--the tendency of -the enamel to split off in cooling, as has been proved by experiment, -arises from the small amount of contraction at that time of the highly -kaolinic paste, compared with that of the superimposed glassy enamel. -The more silicious paste used by the Chinese contracts, on the contrary, -at the same rate approximately as the enamels that it carries, and -these enamels may therefore be laid on in sufficient thickness without -any risk of their subsequently splitting off.[22] To appreciate the -difference in the decorative value of these two classes of enamels it is -only necessary to compare the brilliant effect, say, of a piece of -Chinese egg-shell of the time of Kien-lung with the tame surface of a -contemporary Meissen plate, elaborately painted with landscapes or -flowers. - -The glassy enamels used by the Chinese resemble the pastes used for -artificial jewellery. They are essentially silicates of lead and an -alkali. The composition of the flux has to be modified to ensure the -full development of the colour of the different metallic oxides which -are either made up with it or added subsequently. But in a general way -we may say that the colourless fluxes which form the basis of the -coloured enamels are prepared by melting in a crucible a mixture of pure -quartz sand and red lead, and adding more or less alkali. In certain -cases the lead predominates, as when it is proposed to make an emerald -green enamel by means of copper, or when the flux is to serve as a basis -for the ruby colour given by a minute quantity of gold. On the other -hand, if copper be added to a flux containing an excess of either soda -or potash, we obtain a turquoise blue. A fine purple, again, can only be -obtained from manganese with an alkaline flux; if too much lead is -present only a brown tint is obtainable. - -To melt these enamels and to ensure their adherence to the subjacent -glaze another firing at a gentler temperature is necessary; indeed in -many cases more than one such firing has to be resorted to. The -comparatively high temperature required to develop the colour of one -enamel may be sufficient to decompose or otherwise damage another part -of the decoration. The lowest temperature of all is that of the -muffle-fire in which the gilding is fixed. This is therefore the last -decoration to be added. - -The oven in which these enamels are melted on to the surface of the -already glazed porcelain is called a muffle. The ware in this case is -protected from the direct action of the flame by the closed rectangular -box of fireclay in which it is placed, like bread in a baker’s oven. The -muffle is placed over the fireplace of a rectangular furnace, and the -flame plays round the sides in such a way as to ensure the uniform -distribution of the heat. For the sake of greater cleanliness and the -avoidance of dust, the pieces to be fired are placed upon tiles of -porcelain rather than upon biscuit or fireclay supports. The temperature -may vary from a dull to a full red heat (600° to 1000°C.), and the -firing lasts from four to twelve hours. - -We have already mentioned incidentally many of the so-called -‘muffle-colours’ or enamels. Those used in China were carefully studied -some years ago by Ebelmen and Salvétat at Sèvres. It would appear that -the opaque white of the Chinese is obtained from arsenic--the merits of -the use of tin for this purpose appear to be unknown to them. The blacks -are made from the already mentioned cobalt-manganese ore (wad), mixed -with white lead--when oxide of copper is added a more lustrous black is -obtained.[23] For the blue enamel, a very small quantity of cobalt -suffices to give a brilliant colour. The various tints of the greens and -blues derived from copper depend on the nature of the flux; of this we -have already given an instance. Antimony in combination with lead gives -a bright yellow, which tends to orange when a little iron is present; by -the addition of more iron the colour of old bronze is imitated. Iron in -the state of the sesqui-oxide is the source of many shades of red, but -as this iron oxide will not readily combine with silica to form a -transparent glass, it has to be applied as a more or less opaque paint, -and thus differs from the other colours in being in perceptible relief. -Hence the importance of the ruby red derived from gold, which was first -introduced into China in the early part of the eighteenth century, and -soon became the predominating colour in the decoration of the time (the -_famille rose_). - -The palette of the European enameller is a more extensive one, and each -large porcelain manufactory has its book of recipes. The composition of -the enamels and the relation of the metallic oxides to the fluxes -employed have been systematically studied in more than one laboratory. -It is only at Sèvres, however, that the results obtained have been made -public. It has been the pride of successive generations of chemists--of -Brongniart, of Salvétat, of Ebelmen, not to mention living men--to -devise fresh sources of colour for the decoration of porcelain. First -chromium, then nickel, cadmium, uranium, iridium, and platinum have been -added to the list of metals from which enamel pigments have been -derived. Among the colours of the muffle-stove the chief gain has -perhaps been the discovery of the quality possessed by the oxide of zinc -of altering the tints of other metallic oxides with which it is mixed. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE PORCELAIN OF CHINA - -Introductory--Classification--The Sung Dynasty (960-1279)--The Mongol or -Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368). - -_‘La porcelaine de la Chine! Cette porcelaine supérieure à toutes les -porcelaines de la terre! Cette porcelaine qui a fait depuis des siècles, -et sur tout le globe, des passionnés plus fous que dans toutes les -autres branches de la curiosité.... Enfin cette matière terreuse -façonnée dans les mains d’hommes en un objet de lumière, de doux coloris -dans un luisant de pierre précieuse.’_--EDMOND DE GONCOURT, ‘La Maison -d’un artiste.’ - - -In any work on porcelain it is something more than the premier place -that must be given to the ware of China. We are dealing with an art -Chinese in origin, and during a succession of many centuries Chinese in -its development. It was only at a comparatively late time that the -knowledge of this art spread over the whole civilised world. We in -England have, as it were, acknowledged the pre-eminence of that country -by adopting the word ‘china’ as an equivalent, more or less, to -porcelain.[24] - -It was under Imperial patronage that the art was developed in China, and -the excellence of the porcelain of that country has in a measure varied -with the taste and intelligence with which that patronage was exercised -in different reigns. The native scholar and connoisseur has for ages -been a collector of choice pieces, and his influence has always been -exercised in a conservative direction. There is, indeed, in the whole -world no such consistent _laudator temporis acti_, and it is this -conservative spirit, resulting in a constant ‘returning upon oneself,’ -that it is essential to bear in mind if we are to understand the -involved relation of the old and the new in the history of the arts of -China. - -But the Chinese potter was not working only for the court or for the -learned connoisseur, or again for the supply of the towns and villages. -From the earliest times, or at least for the last thousand years, there -has been a demand for his ware, small at first but slowly spreading, -from the outer barbarian. Porcelain, or something akin to it, has been -exported from China, by one path or another, from the time of the first -Arab settlements at Canton and Kinsay in the eighth or ninth century; -and thus a countervailing influence, acting in the direction of variety -and change, at least as far as the decoration of the ware is concerned, -has always been present. To give but two instances of this influence--we -shall return to the subject later on: in the intimate connection of the -Chinese court with Western Asia, and especially with Persia, in the -thirteenth century, we may probably find the occasion of the first -introduction into China of the blue decoration under the glaze; and with -more certainty--the fact is indeed acknowledged by the Chinese--we may -attribute the second great revolution in the decoration of porcelain, -the use of enamel colours over the glaze, to European or Arab influence. - -On the other hand, the decline that set in at the end of the eighteenth -century was not a little hastened by the increased demand for ware -decorated to suit the depraved taste of the ‘Western barbarian.’ - -For in spite of his rigidity and his conservative spirit, the Chinese -potter has always understood how to adapt his wares to the changing -taste of his customers. Indeed the variation in the decoration, the -subtle _nuances_ in colour and design, that enable us to distinguish -between the Chinese porcelain exported to India, to Persia, and to the -nations of the Christian west, might be made the basis of a most -interesting study. - -When we come to consider the various factories of porcelain that sprang -up in Europe in the course of the eighteenth century, we shall find that -what strikes the inquirer above all (in comparison with the kindred arts -of the time) is the little we can observe in the way of development -either in the technique or decoration of the wares. The art springs up -full-blown; what history there is is concerned rather with an artistic -decline. It is only in China that we can hope to trace the steps by -which this special branch of the potter’s art attained to the perfection -that we find in the products of the eighteenth century, and this alone -is a reason for dwelling, even in a treatment of the subject so general -and brief as this must needs be, on what may seem to some mere -antiquarian detail. - -But there is another and perhaps even a more important reason for our -trying to form some idea of what the earliest wares of the Chinese were -like: unless we make some such endeavour we shall find it impossible to -understand the later history of porcelain in that country. One point -must be specially borne in mind when we are attempting to follow the -order in which fresh styles and designs were introduced in China. When a -new method of decoration had been adopted and had come into general -use--the introduction of underglaze blue in early Ming times, and that -of coloured enamels at a later period, are cases in point--this did not -involve the abandonment of the older styles. There was a constant effort -to maintain the old methods, and in the most flourishing times of the -emperors Kang-he and Kien-lung, the series of great men who had charge -of the imperial works at King-te-chen, some of them practical potters -themselves, were constantly occupied with the problems of reproducing -the glazes, if not the pastes, of the earliest wares. During the reign -of Yung-chêng (1723-1735), perhaps the culminating period in the history -of Chinese porcelain, when Nien Hsi-yao was superintendent, a list was -drawn up of fifty-seven varieties of porcelain made at King-te-chen. In -this list the titles of all the old wares of the Sung dynasty are to be -found, and to them the place of honour is evidently awarded (Bushell, -chap. xii.). The names of some of these old wares, the Ko yao and the -Kuan yao, for instance, are applied to porcelain in common use at the -present day, an attribution based on the greater or less resemblance of -this modern ware to the Sung porcelain, at least in the matter of the -glazes. - -It is only quite of late years that we in Europe have been able to make -any clear distinction, not only between the different classes of Chinese -porcelain, but between what is Chinese and what is not. A few years ago -the most characteristic porcelain of Japan was classed as Chinese, while -on the other hand Corea and even local English factories were credited -with porcelain made and decorated in one or other of the former -countries. - -It is nearly two hundred years since the famous letters of the Jesuit -missionary, the Père D’Entrecolles, were written, and these letters -still remain our best source of information for the processes of -manufacture at King-te-chen. There was little further information on the -subject from the Chinese side[25] until, in 1856, Stanislas Julien -translated part of a Chinese work treating chiefly of the same porcelain -factory--this is the _King-te-chen Tao Lu_, a book which contains in -addition some information about the history of the different wares. This -translation was for many years the only native source of information -available to students of Chinese porcelain, and many were the -misconceptions and blunders in which these students were landed. The -book was indeed accompanied by a preface and valuable notes by M. -Salvétat, the porcelain expert of Sèvres, but Julien himself, though an -eminent Chinese scholar, had no practical acquaintance either with the -matter in hand or indeed with the country generally. - -The beginning of a sounder knowledge of the subject was made when that -collector of genius, the late Sir A. Wollaston Franks, published a -catalogue of the private collection of Japanese and Chinese porcelain -which he afterwards presented to the nation. His marvellous intuition -and his vast experience enabled him to seize upon points of resemblance -and difference which threw light upon the origin of the various wares, -and to expose at the same time the inconsistencies of the arrangements -then in vogue. He it was who first pointed out the general -worthlessness, as a guide to the date or even the country of any piece -of porcelain, of the name of dynasty and emperor which it might bear. -His successor, Mr. C. H. Read, has well carried on the tradition. At the -present moment the British Museum is one of the few places where an -attempt has been made at a systematic arrangement of a representative -collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain.[26] - -In the meantime in China itself, both in connection with the embassies -at Pekin and among some of the merchants at Shanghai and other treaty -ports, much information was being collected, and it was above all the -merit of Franks to keep himself in communication with and to encourage -all such research. Dr. Hirth, long in the service of the Chinese at -Shanghai and elsewhere, has published a series of learned studies -treating of the relation of the Chinese to the Roman empire, of the Arab -traders during the Middle Ages, and of the early history of Chinese -porcelain generally. But it is to a former member of our embassy at -Pekin, to Dr. Bushell, that we are above all indebted for the throwing -open of Chinese sources of information upon the history of porcelain. A -worthy successor of the Père D’Entrecolles in his intimate acquaintance -with the country and its language, Dr. Bushell is well abreast of the -chemical and technical knowledge of the day, and his position as -physician to our embassy at Pekin has given him access to information -from the best Chinese sources, as well as to the treasures of many of -the native collections of the capital. - -Dr. Bushell has written the text to a sumptuously illustrated work, -nominally a catalogue of the collection of porcelain formed by the late -Mr. Walters of Philadelphia, and into this text he has woven all the -vast wealth of material that he had accumulated during many years of -study both at Pekin and in Europe. This work has thus superseded all -other sources of information on the history and manufacture of Chinese -porcelain. He has, in fact, ransacked all that has been written in China -on these subjects, and his translations have this advantage over the -works of Julien, that they are made by one who knows thoroughly the -subject that the Chinese author is dealing with. - -We must not forget the researches on the chemical and technical side of -the subject by what we may call the school of Sèvres. To these workers -we have made frequent reference in previous chapters. It is to the -experiments and analyses of men such as Brongniart, Salvétat, Ebelmen, -and Vogt, that we are indebted for our knowledge of the chemical -constitution of the paste, the glaze, and the enamels of Chinese -porcelain, as well as for a rational exposition of the methods of its -manufacture. To sum up, our sources of information of late years are, in -the main, English, as far as the history and what I may call the -sinology of our subject are concerned; but for the chemistry and -technology we must turn to French works. As far as I know, little of -value has been published in Germany on the subject of Oriental -porcelain. The discussion between Karabacek, Meyer, and Hirth (whose -later papers have been published in German) on the early history of -celadon and on the Arab traders of the Middle Ages, is perhaps the most -notable exception. - -We are in the dark even now as to the date and place of origin of more -than one class of Oriental porcelain. On the question of the relation of -the ceramic wares of China to the contemporary sister arts, there are -many points to be cleared up,--I mean especially the question how far -the early wares were influenced by the art of the bronze-caster and the -carver of jade, and again to what extent the decoration of porcelain in -later times was dependent upon the example of the contemporary schools -of painting. When we know about the pictorial art of the Chinese even -the little that we do already of that of their Japanese neighbours, we -shall, to give but one instance, be able to trace the source of the -beautiful landscapes and flower designs that we find on the vases and -plates of the _famille verte_ and _famille rose_. - -There is one source of information which remains as yet almost -completely untapped. The Japanese have been for many centuries keen -collectors of Chinese porcelain, as of other Chinese objects of art. -They have their own views on its history, and some of the finest -specimens of the older wares remain still in Japan, in spite of the many -pieces that have of late years been carried away to Europe and America. -As we shall see, they have in their own pottery and porcelain handed on -to quite recent days many traditions of Ming and earlier times that have -been lost in China. If some Japanese connoisseur or antiquary, strong in -Chinese lore, could give us a history of porcelain from his own point of -view, I think that European investigators would have cause to be -grateful. - -Much could be gleaned, as I have already said, by studying the relation -of the potters art to that of the jade-carver and the caster of bronze, -and this brings us to an important point that perhaps has not been fully -appreciated by us in the West. I refer to the comparatively late date of -the beginning of porcelain in China compared, for example, to the arts -just mentioned. We can hardly carry back the history of true porcelain -beyond the great Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), and even in China there is -no existing specimen that can safely be attributed to so early a date. -But this same Tang dynasty was the very heyday in that country, not only -of military power but also of artistic culture. It would be impossible -to enter into this important subject here; it is one that has been -strangely ignored by us in Europe. Suffice to say that the great -figure-painters of this period were looked back to with veneration in -later times, both in China and in Japan, and that the two schools of -landscape, the colour school of the North and the black and white -‘literary’ school of the South--schools whose traditions have survived -to the present day--were both founded by Tang artists. At that time art -critics were known (and even honoured); they already wrote books on the -early history of painting, and they have left us descriptions of famous -collections. - -We may expect, then, to find the influence of these more precocious arts -on the early fictile ware of China, and indeed we see the quaint -decoration and the not too beautiful outlines of the early hieratic -bronzes repeated on the rare specimens that survive from the dynasty -that after a period of unrest followed that of Tang. This was the Sung -dynasty, which lasted till the time of the Mongol invasion in the -thirteenth century.[27] - -It is difficult for a European to appreciate the charm, or rather -superlative excellence, that is found by a Chinaman in a fine specimen -of jade. It is, however, a substance that is closely linked with his -philosophy, his religion, and above all with his all-important -ceremonial. No wonder, then, if from an early time he strove, with the -pastes and glazes at his command, to imitate such a material. And -numberless references in contemporary writers, as well as the evidence -of many of the oldest pieces of porcelain surviving, show that this was -the case. We may safely say that in these early specimens the thick -glaze, of tints varying from a true celadon to a more pronounced blue or -green, was admired in proportion to its resemblance to jade. As for the -porcelain itself, all that was looked for in the paste was that it -should be hard, and that the vessel when struck should give out a -bell-like sound--‘a plaintive note like a cup of jade,’ as one early -Chinese writer says of a porcelain cup in his collection. - -The Chinese in these times possessed also elaborately carved vessels of -rock crystal and of various kinds of chalcedony, and these also it was -attempted to imitate with the early glazes. Glass, too, as a material -for small objects, was probably known; it seems, however, to have been -somewhat of a rarity. It is mentioned by writers of the Tang period in -connection with these early wares, and indeed it is possible that there -may be some confusion in the literature of the time (or rather perhaps -in our interpretation of the language used) between the two -materials--the thickly glazed porcelain and the more or less opaque -glass. - -After these preliminary remarks we shall be in a better position to -interpret the somewhat involved and contradictory allusions to our -subject found in Chinese books. - -We now come to the important question of the classification of Chinese -porcelain. A difficulty here arises from the rival claims of two -systems. The older and perhaps safer division depends solely on the -nature of the ware, its colour, decoration, etc.; but in opposition to -this the claim of the more logical, historical classification has, with -our increasing knowledge, become of late years more pressing. The result -has been an attempt to combine the two systems. Such an attempt must -necessarily lead to many compromises, and yet something of the sort is -perhaps the only available plan. We may compare the development of the -ceramic art in China to what has taken place in the evolution of the -animal kingdom: while new and more elaborated forms are evolved, the -older ones, or many of them, survive in but slightly modified forms. If -this tendency be borne well in mind there will be less danger of -confusion between the really old types and the modern representations or -even copies which are called, in China, by the same names. - -The three classes into which Chinese porcelain is divided--and there is -a general agreement among collectors on this head--rest on such an -attempt to combine a historical with a technical classification:-- - -1. Porcelain with single-coloured glazes, including plain white ware. -The colour of the glaze is derived from two metals only, iron and -copper. Any further decoration depends upon the moulding of the surface -or upon patterns incised in the paste. All the wares made up to the end -of the Sung period (1279 A.D.) may probably be included in this class. - -2. Porcelain decorated with colour under the glaze. This division is -nearly equivalent to our ‘blue and white’ ware, but in addition to -cobalt, copper is at times introduced to give a red colour. This system -of decoration was probably introduced during the course of the -fourteenth century, and it is associated with the Ming dynasty. - -3. Porcelain decorated with enamels over the glaze, necessitating a -second firing in a muffle-stove. The use of these fusible enamel colours -came in probably during the sixteenth century, but the art was not fully -developed till much later. - -The glazes of the first and second classes as a rule contained no lead, -and to melt them the full heat of the oven, the _grand feu_, was -required. - -There is, however, a class of porcelain which does not fall well into -any of the above divisions, but which is historically of great -importance. The blue, purple, and yellow glazes of this ware were -_painted_ on the biscuit after a preliminary baking of the paste, and -then fired, not in the hottest part of the furnace, but in what we may -call the _demi grand feu_. The glaze of this ware contains lead, and -this fact and the method of the decoration may be held to give it a -position bridging over the interval between our first two classes and -the third--that of enamelled porcelain. This ware, _painted on the -biscuit_, dates, however, from an earlier time than the latter class, -and must not be confused with it. - -As I have pointed out, these types did not entirely replace one another, -for the earlier forms continued to be made by the side of the later. - -One of our principal difficulties in discussing the early wares of China -is to reconcile and co-ordinate the various types described in old -Chinese books with the few specimens surviving at the present day. Of -these scanty examples we can point to scarcely any in public -collections; the rare pieces that have been brought from China are in -the hands of private collectors in England, France, and America. In the -Chinese authorities we find as early as the tenth century references to -porcelain which was ‘blue as the sky, brilliant as a mirror, thin as -paper, and as sonorous as a piece of jade’; an emperor who reigned just -before the accession of the Sung dynasty (960 A.D.) demanded that the -porcelain made for him should be ‘of the azure tint of the sky after -rain, as it appears in the interval between the clouds.’ Compare with -these descriptions the thick paste, barely translucent, the heavy -irregular glaze, greyish white to celadon or pale blue, of the few -specimens of undoubted antiquity that have survived to our day. How can -we reconcile the tradition with the material evidence? Two explanations -have been given of the discrepancy. According to one theory, all the -more delicate and fragile pieces have disappeared ‘under the hands of -time’ (or shall we say more definitely under those of endless -generations of housemaids?), only the heavy, solid specimens surviving. -The other theory is simpler: it is that the writers of the books are apt -to fall into exaggeration when speaking of any matter that has the -sanction of age--that, not to mince matters, they are as a class great -liars; and this is a point of view that commends itself to those who -have any acquaintance with Chinese literature.[28] - -We have now, however, one source of information for these early wares -upon which, although it is in a measure a literary source, we can place -greater reliance. This is nothing less than an illustrated list, a -_catalogue raisonné_, of famous specimens of porcelain, drawn up by a -distinguished Chinese art connoisseur and collector as long ago as the -end of the sixteenth century. In this manuscript there were more than -eighty coloured reproductions of pieces, both from the author’s own -collection and from those of his friends. The work came from the library -of a Chinese prince of high rank, and it was purchased in Pekin by Dr. -Bushell some twenty years ago. Since then this valuable document has -perished in a fire at a London warehouse, where it had been deposited, -but not before the illustrations had been copied by a Chinese artist and -its owner had made a careful translation and analysis of its -contents.[29] The writer, Hsiang-yuan-pien, better known as Tzu-ching, -after giving a brief sketch of the early history of ceramics in his -country, exclaims apologetically: ‘I have acquired a morbid taste for -pot-sherds. I delight in buying choice specimens of Sung, Yuan, and Ming -ware, and exhibiting them in equal rank with the bells, urns, and -sacrificial wine-vessels of bronze dating from the three ancient -dynasties, from the Chin and the Han’ (2250 B.C. to 220 A.D.)--that is -to say, in placing them in the same rank as antiquities that are -acknowledged to be worthy of the attention of the scholar. Porcelain at -that time, we see, had hardly established its claim to so dignified a -position; hence the apologetic tone. After telling us how with the -advice of a few intimate friends he had selected choice specimens, which -he then copied in colour and carefully described, Tzu-ching concludes -with these words: ‘Say not that my hair is scant and sparse, and yet I -make what is only fit for a child’s toy.’ This appeal is evidently -addressed to the Lord Macaulays of his day.[30] - -The first point to notice in this catalogue is that more than half of -the objects described are attributed to the Sung period (960-1279 A.D.), -that is to say, they were at least three hundred years old at the time -when Tzu-ching wrote. The Sung dynasty, we must bear in mind, was above -all remembered as a period of great wealth and material prosperity. Less -warlike than the Tang which preceded it, the arts were cultivated at the -court of the pleasure-loving emperors who had their capital during the -earlier time at Kai-feng Fu (in the north of Honan, near to the great -bend of the Hoang-ho). When driven south by the advance of the more -warlike Mongols they retired to Hangchow, the Kinsay of which Marco Polo -has such wonderful tales to relate. In these early days there was no -great centre for the manufacture of porcelain; it was made in many -widely separated districts, so that the classification of these early -wares is, in a measure, a geographical one. At King-te-chen, at least in -the later Sung period, they were already making porcelain, but for court -use only, it would appear, for at that time the factory was a strict -imperial preserve, and its wares did not come into the market. - -As to the still older wares, those of Ch’ai and of Ju, which generally -hold the place of honour in Chinese lists, it was of the first that the -emperor spoke when he commanded that pieces intended for his own use -should be clear as the sky after rain; but no specimen of this porcelain -was extant even in Ming times. Its place, it would seem, was taken by -the JU YAO (the word _yao_ is about equivalent to our term ‘ware’), -which, like the Ch’ai, came from the province of Honan. This ware also -is now practically extinct; Tzu-ching, however, claims to have possessed -some specimens, and of these he gives more than one illustration. The -glaze was thick and like melted lard (a comparison often made by the -Chinese), and varied in colour from a _clair-de-lune_ to a brighter -tint of blue. The name Ju, we may add, is often applied to more modern -glazes which resemble the old ones in colour and thickness. - -The name KUAN YAO, which means ‘official’ or ‘imperial’ porcelain, has -been the cause of much confusion; the term has been applied to any ware -made for imperial use. That of the Sung dynasty was made in the -immediate neighbourhood of the imperial court, first at Kai-feng Fu and -later at Hangchow. In its more strict use the term Kuan yao is applied -to pieces generally of archaic form, to censers ornamented with -grotesque heads of monstrous animals, and to wares of other shapes -copied from old ritual bronzes. The glaze varies in colour from emerald -green to greyish green and _clair-de-lune_, it is generally crackled, -the cracks forming large ‘crab-claw’ divisions. Other kinds are -described as white and very thin, but of these, perhaps for one of the -reasons given above, no examples have survived to our day. - -LUNG-CHUAN YAO and KO YAO. It will be convenient to class together these -two most important types of Chinese porcelain. At the present day these -names are applied in China to some comparatively common varieties of -porcelain, not necessarily of any great age. But more strictly -Lung-chuan yao is the term used by the Chinese for the heavy celadon -pieces, whether dating from Sung or from Ming times, which were the -first kinds of porcelain to become a regular article of export; while -the word Ko yao is used as a general name for many kinds of crackle -ware, which may vary in colour from white to a full celadon. In a more -restricted sense it includes only the early pieces with a greyish white -glaze and well-marked crackles. - -LUNG-CHUAN WARE was made during Sung times at a town of that name in the -province of Chekiang, situated about halfway between the Poyang lake -and the coast. In Ming times the kilns were removed to the adjacent -provincial capital, Chu-chou Fu, nearer to the coast. This was probably -the ware that Marco Polo saw when passing through the town of Tingui. It -was largely exported from the ports of Zaitun and Kinsay. It will, -however, be better to defer the discussion of this thorny question to a -later chapter, when we shall have something to say about the way in -which the knowledge of Chinese porcelain was spread through the -Mohammedan and Christian west. It will be enough for the present to -mention that the Lung-chuan ware was the original type and always -remained one of the principal sources of the Martabani celadon so prized -in early Saracen times. - -As this is the first time that we come across celadon ware,[31] we may -mention that we use the term in the older and narrower sense for a -greyish sea-green colour tending at times to blue. The name is, however, -sometimes made to cover nearly the whole range of monochrome glazes. It -is the _Ching-tsu_[32] of the Chinese and the _Sei-ji_ of the Japanese. - -The true Lung-chuan celadon of Sung times was, however, of a more -pronounced grass-green colour. But we are concerned rather with the -later celadon made at Chu-chou Fu during the Ming period. For it is to -this time that we must refer most of the heavy dishes and bowls, often -fluted or moulded in low relief with a floral design of peony or lotus -flowers, or again with plaited patterns surrounding a fish or dragon - -[Illustration: _PLATE III._ 1--CHINESE, CELADON WARE -2--CHINESE, CELADON WARE] - -which occupies the centre; in other examples the decoration is engraved -in the paste. In either case, whether moulded or engraved, the glaze -accumulating in the hollows helps to accentuate the pattern. The paste -as seen through the glaze where the latter is thin appears white, but -where the glaze is absent, as on the foot, or where it is exposed by -bubbles or other irregularities, the ground is seen to be of a peculiar -reddish tint. By this test the Chinese claim to distinguish the older -celadon, the true _martabani_, from the later imitations made at -King-te-chen. The paste of these later copies is often artificially -coloured on the exposed surface so that they may resemble the old ware -(Hirth, _Ancient Porcelain_, pp. 21 _seq._). - -As for the KO YAO, the old ware of Sung times is said to have been first -made in the twelfth century. The Chinese character with which ‘Ko’ is -written means ‘elder brother.’ According to the books there were at this -time at Lung-chuan two brother potters named Chang. The elder brother -leaving the younger Chang to continue in the old ways, started to make a -new ware distinguished by the crackle of its glaze. This was originally -a thick, heavy ware, with the iron-red foot and white paste already -noticed, but, as we have said, the name is now used for a large class of -crackle ware with a glaze of celadon, of greyish white and especially of -a yellowish stone colour. This porcelain with grey and yellowish crackle -does not seem to have been so largely exported as the uncrackled -celadon; bowls and jars of a similar ware have, however, been found in -Borneo and in the adjacent islands. - -CHÜN YAO.--It is to this ware that we may trace back the now famous -family of _flambé_ porcelain. Chün yao was already made in early Sung -times, _i.e._ before the Mongol conquests of the twelfth century, in -Honan, not far from the old capital of Kai-feng Fu. A description in a -work of the seventeenth century leaves no doubt as to its -identification. ‘As to this Chün yao,’ the writer says, ‘a fine specimen -should be red as cinnabar, green as onion-leaves or the plumage of the -kingfisher, and purple, brown, and black like the skin of the -egg-plant.’ We have here the description of that ‘transmutation’ or -_flambé_ ware of which such magnificent examples were made at -King-te-chen in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and which has -lately been successfully imitated in France. The play of flashing colour -in the glaze was said to have been originally the result of accident, -but we must not attach much importance to statements of this kind. In -the old Sung pieces the clay is less white and fine than in the highly -finished examples made at King-te-chen during the reigns of Kang-he and -Yung-cheng. On the Sung ware we may frequently find a number (from one -to nine) engraved, sometimes more than once, in the paste, and these -characters are carefully copied in the later reproductions. We have here -perhaps the earliest instance of the employment of a mark on porcelain. -The old writers tell us apologetically of the vulgar names given, by way -of joke, it would seem, to these glazes, such as mule’s lungs or pig’s -liver--no inapt comparisons, however, for some of the effects seen in -these old wares. These varied hues were of course obtained from copper -in the first place, though the presence of iron, in both stages of -oxidation, may sometimes add to the variety of the tints. - -KIEN YAO.--This was a dark-coloured ware made at Kien-chou, north-west -of the port of Fuchou. It must not be confused with the well-known -creamy-white ware of Fukien, exported in later days from the same port. -Certain shallow conical cups of this ware, with a vitreous glaze, almost -black, but relieved around the margin with small streaks and spots of a -lighter colour, were especially valued from very early times for the -preparation of powdered tea--nowhere more than in Japan, where an -undoubted specimen of this Kien ware is treasured as a priceless -heirloom. There is an excellent specimen in the British Museum: a -careful examination of this little bowl will give no little aid in -understanding what are some of the qualities that are looked for in -China and Japan in these old glazes. There is a quiet charm in the -glassy surface, and an air as of some quaint natural stone carefully -carved and polished rather than of a product of the potter’s wheel. - -TING YAO.--In the Ting yao of the Sung dynasty, as in the case of the -contemporaneous celadon and crackle wares, we have the oldest type of an -important class of porcelain. The earlier specimens have served more -than once as models for famous potters of Ming and later times. It was -probably at Ting-chou, a town in the province of Chihli, to the -south-west of Pekin, that a brilliant white porcelain was first -successfully made by the Chinese, possibly as early as the time of the -Tang dynasty; and the name of Ting yao has remained associated with all -pure white wares of a certain quality, even though made at other places. -As in the case of the celadon porcelain, the decoration, if any, was -either in low relief or incised in the paste; but in opposition to many -of the other wares we have mentioned, the Ting porcelain seems from the -first to have been made from a paste of great fineness, its translucency -was at times considerable, and the patterns were engraved or moulded -with much delicacy. The design when engraved is scarcely visible unless -the vessel is held up to the light. The specimens of Ting ware that -survive date probably from Mongol or from Ming times. The British Museum -possesses a remarkable collection of these Ting bowls and plates. A pair -of very thin pure white shallow bowls are noticeable as having in the -centre an inscription finely engraved in minute characters under the -glaze. It is the nien-hao or year-mark of the Emperor Yung-lo -(1402-1424), the first great name among the emperors of the Ming -dynasty. This is perhaps the earliest date-mark with any pretentions to -genuineness that has been found on the Chinese porcelain in our -collections. The decoration, in this case, is formed by a five-clawed -dragon faintly engraved in the paste. These bowls are specimens of the -_feng_ or ‘flour’ Ting ware (also known as _Pai_ or ‘white’ Ting), but -most of the Ting plates in the same collection are of quite another kind -of ware, which has a surface like that of a European soft-paste -porcelain--this the Chinese know as the _Tu-Ting_ or earthy Ting. This -latter ware has in fact a soft lead glaze covering a hard body, and must -therefore have required two firings, the first to thoroughly bake the -paste, and a second at a lower temperature to melt the glaze on to it. -Some of the specimens of this _Tu-Ting_ in the British Museum are said -to date from Sung times. I do not know what is the authority for the use -of a lead glaze in China at so early a date. Many of these plates have -certainly a great appearance of age, but this antique look is due in -some measure to the ‘weathering’ of the soft glazes on the exposed -surfaces. This weathering has brought into prominence the very graceful -decoration of lotus-flowers, but the surface is often discoloured by -stains as of some oily matter which has apparently found its way under -the glaze. The copper bands with which the edges of many of these plates -are bound are mentioned in the old accounts; those in use in the palace, -it is said, were fitted thus with collars to preserve the tender -material. - -We must postpone the account of the rival white ware, the creamy -porcelain of Fukien, or later Kien yao, as none of it was made as early -as the time of the Sung dynasty. The Kien yao of that time, as we have -seen, was quite another ware. - -We have now mentioned the most important of the classes of Chinese -porcelain that date from early times. We have confined our brief notice -to the varieties of which specimens have survived, laying special stress -upon those kinds which have, as it were, founded a family, and which we -can therefore study in specimens from later ages. The names of many -other wares of both the Sung and Tang periods may be found in Chinese -books, but of these we do not propose to say a word. - -The paste of these early wares is rarely of a pure white, and their -translucency is generally very slight, but they are not for that reason -to be classed as stonewares. The materials were probably in all cases -derived from granitic rocks, that is to say, from a more or less -decomposed granite (containing mica and often a certain amount of iron) -mixed with some kind of impure kaolin. Professor Church, in his Cantor -Lectures, gives us two analyses of ‘old Chinese ware,’ which confirm -this view. One specimen, with a white body, was found to contain 75 per -cent. of silica, about 18 per cent. of alumina, and about 5·5 per cent. -of alkalis (chiefly potash). The other, of brownish coloured paste, -contained a little less silica, but as much as 2·5 per cent. of iron. -For the roughly prepared material of these old wares we would prefer the -name of proto-porcelain or kaolinic stoneware, so that there may be no -confusion with the true stoneware of Europe, a quite different -material.[33] - -In the absence of more ordinary clays in the central and northern parts -of China, some such kaolinic pottery may have been made by the Chinese -from very early times. When in Tang or in earlier days it occurred to -them to attempt to imitate jade or other natural stones, they had the -good fortune to be already using materials that allowed of these -experiments being after a time crowned with success. The important point -that still remains unsettled is at what date they first succeeded in -covering a ware of this class with a vitreous coating. For the date of -the first use of glaze in China we can at present only give a very wide -limit, let us say some time between the first and the fifth century of -our era. Very probably it was their acquaintance with the nature of -glass that put them on the right track. This material, it is said, they -first knew of from their intercourse with the later Roman empire. There -is some reason to believe that they acquired at the same time the secret -of its manufacture, though, according to the Chinese, the art was lost -at a later time.[34] - -We can now form some idea of how far the art of making porcelain had -advanced at the time when the tide of the Mongol invasion swept over the -country. Our knowledge of the wares made at this time must be derived -chiefly from the imitations of the older porcelain made at a later -period, but in such a conservative country as China this reservation is -of no great importance. We must remember that in all these wares there -was no other decoration than that given by the glaze as applied to the -variously moulded or incised surface of the paste. The nature of the -glaze was therefore of pre-eminent importance. The range of colour, -except in the rare _flambé_ vases, was in the main confined to shades of -blue and green, and even of these colours pronounced tints are rare. All -the colours at the command of the potters of these days were derived -from the oxides of iron and copper. And yet with such simple elements, -what an infinite variety! It has been truly said by a French writer that -the beauty of the glaze is the _qualité maîtresse de la céramique_, and -it is partly a recognition of this claim that has led so many French and -American collectors, of late, to follow the example of the Chinese and -Japanese connoisseurs, and to give so marked a preference to monochrome -porcelains, which owe their charm to the - -[Illustration: _PLATE IV._ CHINESE] - -merits of the glaze alone. But the specimens we find in these -collections are with but few exceptions of much later date. The price -that a fine piece of Sung ware, above all if it has a good pedigree and -comes from a known collection, has always commanded in China has -sufficed, at least until quite lately, to keep such specimens in their -native country. - -As we have said, there are very few examples in our public collections -that can with any assurance be attributed to Sung times. In the British -Museum, in the same case with the Kien yao tea-bowl already mentioned, -is a jar some twelve inches in height, with two small handles on the -shoulder. It is of irregular shape and covered with a thick glaze of a -pale turquoise blue, faintly crackled. Close to the mouth is a bright -red mark, like a piece of sealing-wax, due probably to the local partial -reduction of the copper. This beautiful but very archaic-looking jar -(PL. IV.) is attributed to no earlier date than the later or southern -Sung dynasty (1127-1279). Among the large number of crackle monochrome -pieces in the same collection there are many specimens which a Chinese -connoisseur would classify as Ko yao, and similarly some of the old -_flambé_ pieces might be termed Chün yao, without definitely assigning -them to Sung times. The Lung-Chuan celadons are represented by some -early pieces, more than one distinguished by the red foot. There are -some fine plates of old heavy celadon at South Kensington, not a few -purchased in Persia. Here may also be found a celadon jar cut down at -the neck; and the ‘mouth’ thus artificially formed has been carefully -stained of a red colour to imitate the old ware. The French museums are -particularly rich in specimens of old _martabani_ celadon--I would point -especially to several large dishes both at Sèvres and in the _Musée -Guimet_. But what is perhaps the finest collection in Europe of celadon -and other old wares is now to be seen in the museum at Gotha. It was -brought together by the late Duke of Edinburgh, who added to previous -acquisitions the collection formed in China by Dr. Hirth. - - -YUAN DYNASTY (1280-1368). - -Probably at no period during its long history has the Chinese empire -been subjected to such a thorough shaking up, to such a complete -upsetting and reversal of its ancient ways, as during the advance of the -Mongols from the north to the south during the twelfth and thirteenth -centuries. When they had at length subdued the whole land, there was a -moment during the rule of the liberal-minded Kublai Khan when the old -barriers and prejudices seemed to have been broken down, and when the -Middle Kingdom appeared to be about to enter the general comity of -nations. This is what gives to Marco Polo’s account of the country, -which he visited at the time, so very ‘un-Chinese’ an air. We hear of -Italian friars and French goldsmiths at the court, and of projected -embassies from the Pope. Still closer were the relations with the -Mohammedan people of Western Asia, then ruled by members of Kublai’s -family. Marco Polo, we know, formed part of the escort of Kublai’s -sister, when she travelled by sea to Persia to become the bride of the -Mongol khan of that country; and a predecessor of this latter ruler, -Hulugu, as early as the middle of the thirteenth century, brought over, -it is said, as many as a thousand Chinese artificers and settled them in -Persia. - -And yet when scarcely two generations later the degenerate descendants -of Kublai were driven from the imperial throne and replaced by a native -dynasty, what slight permanent trace do we see of all these changes -reflected in the arts of the Middle Kingdom! No doubt, on looking -closely, we should find that a change had taken place during these -years: new materials had been brought in, new forms and new decorations -applied to the metal ware and the pottery of the Chinese. It is in -connection with these two arts especially (and we may add to them the -designs on textile fabrics) that we find so many points of interest in -the mutual influence of the civilisations of China and Persia at this -time. We must remember that in the thirteenth century the craftsman of -Persia, as the inheritor of both Saracenic and older traditions, was in -many respects ahead of his rival artist in China. - -As far as the potter’s art was concerned this was the first meeting of -two contrasted schools, which between them cover pretty well the whole -field of ceramics--of that part at least of the field in which the glaze -is the principal element in the decoration.[35] - -The Persian ware of this time was the culminating example of an art that -had been handed down from the Egyptians and the Assyrians. As a rule, -among these races, the baser nature of the paste had been concealed by a -more or less opaque coating either of a fine clay or ‘slip,’ or of a -glaze rendered non-transparent by the addition of tin; it is on this -coating that the decoration is painted, to be covered subsequently (in -the first case at least, that of the slip ware) by a coating of glaze. -It is to this large class, for the most part to the latter or -stanniferous division, that nearly all the famous wares of the European -renaissance belong, not only the Spanish and Italian majolica but the -enamelled fayence of France and Holland as well. It was with the latter -two wares that at a later date the porcelain of China was destined to -come into competition. Each of these ceramic schools, the Eastern -porcelain and the Western fayence, might in certain points claim -advantages over the other, advantages both of a practical and of an -æsthetic nature. For example, the glory of the Persian fayence of that -day lay in its application to architecture, in the brilliant coating of -tiles that covered the walls and the domes of the mosques and dwellings -both inside and out. The Chinese have never succeeded in making tiles of -any size with their porcelain. When used for the decoration of buildings -the porcelain, or rather the earthenware, is always in the form of -solid, moulded bricks. - -But there is another matter with which the Chinese who visited Western -Asia at that time cannot fail to have been struck--with the materials, I -mean, at the command of the Persians, for the application of colour both -under and over the glaze. Of the decorations over the glaze the most -important were those given by their famous metallic lustres. This -lustre, we now know, was the result of an ingenious process by which a -film of copper, or sometimes of silver, was developed on the surface of -the glaze. - -The Chinese have never attempted anything of the kind, in part because -such a method of adornment was foreign to their notions of what was -fitting. For we must bear in mind that the influence of the literary -tradition in China has always tended towards simplicity of means in -their decorative arts, and has been opposed to anything like an -ostentatious display of expensive materials. Any marked infringement of -this sentiment, even on the part of an emperor, has always called forth -a protest from the censors. Another cause which hindered the adoption of -the lustre decoration by the Chinese may be found, no doubt, in the -difficulties of its practical application. At that time the processes of -the muffle-stove for decoration over the glaze were quite unknown to -them.[36] But the Saracens, in Western Asia, were already in possession -of another means of decorating their ware. This they found in the use of -cobalt, especially as a material for painting a design on the paste -before the application of the glaze. We find this colour at times on the -tiles that lined their prayer-niches; these indeed date from a somewhat -later time. But there is another variety of Saracenic ware of which a -few specimens have survived. I refer to the vases and bowls covered with -a thick alkaline glaze, and decorated, in part at least, _under the -glaze_ with a design of black lines and some rude patches of blue. These -rare vases were formerly classed as Siculo-Moorish, but later research -has proved most of them to be of Persian or perhaps rather of Syrian or -Mesopotamian origin. They appear to be the work of thirteenth century -potters, and some of them may be of even earlier date.[37] - -When we consider that there is no evidence of the use of cobalt by the -Chinese for the decoration of their porcelain during Sung times, that -indeed the use of colour apart from that of the glaze as a means of -decoration appears to have been then unknown; but that, on the other -hand, not long after the turmoil of the Mongol invasion and -domination--a period during which the two countries, China and Persia, -were so closely connected--we find the use of cobalt as a decoration -_sous couverte_ firmly established, we may, I think, regard it as not -improbable that it was from the Persians that the Chinese learned the -new method of decoration.[38] - -The influence of the Saracenic art of Western Asia is indeed now for the -first time to be seen in other directions, and we shall find it cropping -up here and there during the whole of the following Ming period. It was -the source of many new forms which we see now for the first time in -China: the graceful water-vessels, for instance, with long necks and -curved spouts, copied from the Arab _Ibraik_. Again, we find this -influence at times in the _motifs_ of the conventional floral patterns -found on Ming porcelain, though these patterns, indeed, are always mere -counterchanges, as it were, upon a field of an unmistakable Chinese -stamp (PL. VI.). All these changes were doubtless regarded as anathema -by the Chinese censors, who reminded the rash innovators that the great -men of old were content with simple materials and forms, and that they -in their wisdom rejected all such meretricious ornament. For it was -seriously maintained that had they thought it desirable, these old sages -could have commanded all the resources of the later potter, not only the -larger field he could draw from for his designs and colours, but the -improved paste of his porcelain as well. - -On the other hand, the Chinese influence at this time on Persian art was -small. By a careful search we may find at times a dragon or a phœnix -amid unmistakable Chinese clouds on the spandrel above the arch of a -Persian prayer-niche of the fourteenth century, or forming the centre of -a star-shaped tile. But the great invasion of Chinese wares and Chinese -schemes of decoration belongs, as far as the fictile art of the country -is concerned, to a later period, that of Shah Abbas in the early years -of the seventeenth century. - -It is not unlikely that in China the Western influence did not make much -way until the time of the early Ming emperors, and that it was due more -immediately to the growing commercial intercourse with the Persian -Gulf, but this intercourse was itself fostered by the events of the -Mongol invasion. - -There is very little to be said of the porcelain made during the time of -the MONGOL or YUAN dynasty, and we have few specimens that can be -definitely assigned to that period. The name is still given in Pekin to -a rude, somewhat heavy ware, with a thick glaze of mingled tints, among -which a shade of lavender with speckles of red predominates. This is but -a modification of the Chün yao of Sung times, and belongs in a general -way to the class of ‘transmutation’ wares--those in which the colours -depend on the partial reduction of the oxides of iron and copper in the -glaze. Specimens of this ware that claim to be of Chinese origin are -often found in Japan, where they are much in favour for use as flower -vases, but neither in that country nor in China have the pieces we meet -with much claim to any great antiquity. - -There is only one specimen in the Bushell manuscript that is attributed -by Tzu-ching to the Yuan period--this is a little vase of white ware -decorated with dragons faintly engraved in the paste under the glaze. - -This white ware, generally classed as Ting, is indeed in many of our -books on porcelain considered to be especially characteristic of the -Mongol dynasty, but I cannot find any definite confirmation of this. The -finer pieces of plain white seem to be generally attributed by the -Chinese rather to the beginning of the next dynasty. The little white -plate in the Dresden Museum, said to have been ‘brought back from the -East by a crusader,’ has no claim to such an early date.[39] - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE PORCELAIN OF CHINA--(_continued_). - - -THE MING DYNASTY (1368-1643). - -It was in the course of the three centuries during which the Ming -dynasty ruled in China that the greatest advance was made in the -manufacture of porcelain. When, however, we come to look a little more -closely, we find that this long period may be shortened by nearly a -hundred years. Before the accession of Yung-lo (1402), and after the -death of Wanli (1619), the times were little favourable to the arts of -peace, and even in this shorter period of two centuries there were -intervals, indeed whole reigns, of which there is little to report. - -The points of chief importance to remember in connection with this -dynasty are--1. That not later than the beginning of the fifteenth -century the employment of the oxides of copper and cobalt for decoration -under the glaze was coming into general use. To this, or perhaps to an -earlier date, we must assign the beginnings of the ware that we in -England are wont to consider the most important of all, the great family -of ‘blue and white’ porcelain. 2. That probably about the same time, or -soon after, the ‘painted glazes,’ as we have called them, were -introduced. In this ware the colours required for the decoration--the -palette was a very restricted one--were painted directly on the biscuit, -the piece having been previously fired; it was then re-fired at a -moderate heat. 3. That at a later period, probably about the middle of -the sixteenth century, the employment of enamel colours above the glaze -was introduced, probably under European influence. - -It is the blue and white that we are above all accustomed to associate -with the Ming period. But this is not the Chinese point of view. If we -consult the Bushell manuscript (see chap. v.) we find that Tzu-ching, -towards the end of the sixteenth century, had in his collection -thirty-nine pieces which he attributed to the reigning dynasty, but of -these only five or six would be classed by us as ‘blue and white’; at -least equal importance was given to those decorated with copper-red -under the glaze, and even more specimens belong to the class of painted -glazes. These latter are chiefly little objects--pen-rests, rouge-pots, -and small wine-jars moulded to represent plant and animal forms, the -gourd or again the persimmon being great favourites. We must not confuse -these early specimens, dating mostly from the fifteenth and sixteenth -centuries, with the somewhat similar objects so much sought after by the -French collectors in the eighteenth century, which belong for the most -part to the contemporary _famille verte_; on these the decoration is -given for the most part by enamels _painted over the glaze_. Still it is -from some of these little _magots_ that we can perhaps form the best -idea of the coloured porcelain so prized by Tzu-ching, but of which we -are unable to point to any specimens in our collections. - -In connection with these painted glazes--for it undoubtedly belongs to -this class--it may be well to say something of a very decorative ware of -which the origin is probably to be placed in early Ming times. The -colours are distinctly those of the _demi grand feu_, and in this ware -we have the earliest instance of the use of these colours. This -porcelain occurs most frequently in the shape of vases of baluster -outline with contracted necks and small mouths, or sometimes of the -more ordinary oil-jar shape, with wide mouths. We may distinguish two -types of this ware. In the first the decoration is given by means of a -low relief of beads and of ribs surrounding countersunk _cloisons_. The -field between these _cloisons_ is of a deep blue passing into a -blue-black, and the _cloisons_ themselves are filled with a wash of -turquoise or straw-yellow. Chains of pearls in festoon surround the -neck, and from these hang _pendeloques_ of various Buddhist emblems. On -the body of these vases the decoration often consists of lotus-plants -arising from conventional waves.[40] In the second type the turquoise -blue predominates, an impure pale manganese is added, and the jars are -often built up of an open-work trellis of bars. Both the turquoise and -aubergine purple porcelain of the Kang-he period, as well as the -Japanese Kishiu ware, may possibly be traced back to a Ming porcelain of -this class. There are specimens of all these wares in the British Museum -and at South Kensington. In the Salting collection is a jar of the -_cloisonné_ type, the blue-black ground covered with a skin of thin -glaze of a dull surface. This jar was formerly the property of a -Japanese collector (PL. II.).[41] - -The colours applied _under the glaze_ are confined to cobalt blue and -copper red. The latter when fine in tint was greatly prized by the -Chinese, and we are informed that in the most brilliant specimens the -colour was given by ‘powdered rubies from the West.’ It was, however, a -treacherous colour to use, and after the period of Hsuan-te (1425-1435), -which was famous for its ruby-red, - -[Illustration: _PLATE V._ CHINESE] - -it fell into comparative disuse and was displaced in a measure at a -later date by a more manageable iron red. The use of the copper -sub-oxide to obtain a red, _sous couverte_, was, however, revived in the -time of Kang-he. On examples in European collections this red, when used -alone or in connection with blue, is generally of a rather poor maroon -colour, and it has not found much favour with us. The colour was often -thus applied to the painting of fish, floating, it may be, among blue -water-weeds. We see it at its best as a monochrome on some little bowls, -enlivened with a floral design in gold, in the British Museum. These -cups and some similar ones at Dresden undoubtedly date from Ming times; -the ruby tint seen through a brilliant glaze has never been equalled in -later days. With these we may compare certain little apple-green bowls -similarly decorated with gold. One of these in a silver-gilt mounting of -the early sixteenth century is in the Gold Room at the British Museum -(PL. V.). - - -‘BLUE AND WHITE’ PORCELAIN. - -What we somewhat vaguely call ‘blue and white,’ that is porcelain -decorated under the glaze with designs painted with cobalt blue, has -always formed the most important class in the eyes of European -collectors, at least of those of England and Holland. This preference -has been even more marked with the people of India and Persia, and no -wonder, for no combination of colour more suggestive of coolness could -be imagined. It has thus come about that this class of ware, more than -any other, has been made with the direct object of exportation. This -blue and white porcelain of China and Japan, which has found its way -into so many lands both of Europe and Asia, has for centuries had the -profoundest influence upon the native wares of these countries, whether -of porcelain or of fayence. - -In China, by the introduction of this process of freely painting with a -brush upon the surface of the paste, the potters art was for the first -time brought into contact with that of the painter, and thus fell under -new influences. The artists of China at that time were divided into many -schools, but what we may call the literary or _dilettante_ influence was -predominant, and this influence is reflected in the subjects treated on -Ming porcelain--subjects which, as usual in China, were handed on to the -ceramic artists of the next dynasty. The earliest decoration in blue and -white in no way followed, as far as we know, the hierated types of the -old bronze ware. Such _motifs_ we do indeed sometimes see repeated on -porcelain, but only on pieces that may safely be attributed to a much -later date, especially to the pseudo-archaic revival of Yung-cheng’s -time (1722-35). - -There is no class of Chinese porcelain to which it is more difficult to -assign even an approximate date than to this blue and white ware. We may -say at once that the _nien-hao_, or the characters giving the name of -the dynasty and the emperor, so often found inscribed on the base, are -in the vast majority of cases of no value for fixing the date, and this -is especially true when the name of a Ming emperor is thus found. What -is more, these marks, as far as we can judge (from the knowledge we now -possess derived from other sources), do not, as we might have expected, -even help us in giving hints of the style prevailing at the period -indicated by the date. To take but one example, the reign-mark of -Cheng-hua (1464-87) is the one most frequently found on the finest -pieces of blue and white (in the Salting collection, for instance), but -by far the greater number of the pieces so marked undoubtedly date from -the beginning of the eighteenth century. On the other hand, the Chinese -books all agree in telling us that this Cheng-hua period was noted for -a decline in the excellence of the blue, but on the other hand was -pre-eminent for its coloured decoration. It was rather the earlier -Hsuan-te period (1425-35) that was renowned for the brilliancy of its -blue. These statements of the Chinese authorities are confirmed by an -analysis of the Ming specimens illustrated in the Bushell manuscript. -The Japanese, perhaps a little more rationally, give the preference to -the reigns of Hsuan-te and Yung-lo (1402-24), for the date-marks of -these emperors (‘Sentoku’ and ‘Yeiraku’ in the Japanese reading) are to -be read on the commonest modern blue and white in domestic use in that -country. - -This is a point that cannot be too strongly dwelt upon. Perhaps if a -little more of the care and research that have been devoted to the -reading of these _nien-hao_ and other inscriptions on Chinese porcelain -had been earlier directed to a careful examination of the glazes and -enamels, and to questions of technique generally, the misconceptions -that so long prevailed as to the dating and classification of Oriental -porcelain would have been sooner dispelled. - -But what means have we then for settling the date of a piece of Chinese -blue and white ware? What criterion is there for distinguishing between -specimens of early Ming, late Ming, or Manchu times?--or indeed between -those of Chinese and Japanese origin? That we even now possess no very -exact criterion is shown by the wide difference of opinion so often -found in individual cases. If we are to form our judgment from the rare -extant pieces of blue and white known to have been imported into Europe -in the sixteenth century, we must regard the Ming ware as distinguished -by a certain irregularity of surface, seen best by side-reflected -lights; the pieces are generally moulded, and the marks of the lines of -junction of the moulds are often to be traced on the surface; the paste, -too, is generally very thick, and sometimes shows gaping fissures at -the margin. The drawing of the design is somewhat hasty and summary, -although at times distinguished by a freshness of handling and by a -certain caligraphic freedom. But we must not draw too hasty an inference -from the few specimens in our European collections, many of which must -have been made, as we shall see later on, at a period of temporary -decline; nor are we justified in regarding mere articles of commerce, as -most of these specimens undoubtedly were, as representative of the -higher artistic products of the time. - -The blue in these early pieces is generally of a full tint but not of -any remarkable quality. There are, however, to be found a few specimens, -heavily moulded indeed and of irregular contour, decorated with cobalt -blue of a full sapphire tint. Of this class there are one or two -brilliant specimens both in the British Museum and at South Kensington. -In these and in other Ming wares the surface of the glaze is often -dulled, and this is not always the result of minute scratches, for -sometimes a process of devitrification appears to have set in.[42] -Another class of Ming ware is distinguished by a decoration delicately -painted in a pale blue tint, and it was this style that was copied by -the Japanese in their Mikawaji ware of the seventeenth century. - -It is to later Ming times that we must attribute the bulk of the rough -heavy ware of which so much is found in India.[43] These are generally -large plates and bowls, often discoloured from having been used for -cooking purposes. The decoration is hastily executed - -[Illustration: _PLATE VI._ CHINESE, BLUE AND WHITE WARE] - -in a dull indigo blue (derived of course from cobalt, as in other -cases), and the outlines are often accentuated by black lines. Many fine -specimens of this picturesque ware, from the collection of Mrs. Halsey, -were shown in the exhibition of blue and white ware at the Burlington -Fine Arts Club in 1895. It was claimed for one large vase that it came -from the palace of the Moguls at Agra, and that it had been presented to -Jehangir by the Chinese emperor Wan-li (1572-1619). It is often stated -that this class of ware was made at some factory in the south of China, -probably in the neighbourhood of Canton, the port from which doubtless -most of it was exported. As yet, however, no evidence, as far as I am -aware, for such a factory has been brought forward, and no definite -locality indicated. The statement made by the Abbé Raynal, about a -factory at Shao-king Fu, rests probably upon a misconception. - -There are several specimens of blue and white in England, the metal -mountings of which date from the early seventeenth or even from the -sixteenth century. Of these the most famous are the four pieces from -Burleigh House (now belonging to Mr. Pierpont Morgan), which are -believed to have been in the possession of the Cecil family from the -time of Queen Elizabeth. One of these bears the date-mark of Wan-li, the -contemporary of that queen. This ware is not particularly fine, the -surfaces are irregular, and all the pieces are apparently moulded (PL. -XXVIII.). - -This subject, however, of the early presence of Chinese porcelain in -other lands we shall return to in a later chapter. - -So far, then, with such imperfect lights as are at our command, we have -attempted to follow up the history of porcelain, and so far, say up to -the middle of the sixteenth century, China is practically the only -country with which we are concerned. Some fair imitations of celadon, -the _martabani_ of Oriental commerce, had probably by this time been -made in Siam and perhaps elsewhere, and the Japanese were already in a -sporadic way experimenting with imported and native clays. But up to the -sixteenth century the Chinese had practically the monopoly of the art, -and as we have seen they had at that time the command of three processes -of decoration--that is by monochrome glazes, by painting with glazes of -a few simple colours on the biscuit, and finally by means of cobalt -blues and copper reds painted on the surface of the raw paste. - -Not but that some attempts may have already been made to apply coloured -decoration over the glaze--the next and final step in the history of -porcelain. There are some passages in contemporary Chinese books, giving -descriptions of elaborate subjects painted in many colours on porcelain -of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which it would be difficult to -apply to our class of painted glazes. Thus--to take a pronounced -instance from an unexceptionable source--the miniature wine-cups, No. 59 -of the Bushell manuscript, are attributed by Tzu-ching to the reign of -Cheng-hua (1464-87), and he describes them thus--‘They are painted in -enamel colours’ (so Dr. Bushell translates the original) ‘with flowers -and insects; ... the cockscomb, the narcissus and other flowers, the -flying dragon-fly and crawling mantis are minutely painted after life in -green, yellow, and crimson enamel.’ (This, by the way, is a combination -of colours which it must have been difficult to apply at one firing with -the pigments known at that time.) And yet in the absence of any specimen -of enamelled ware (using the word enamel in its restricted sense for a -decoration applied over the glaze) that can with certainty be attributed -to so early a period, it will be safer to postpone the date of the -introduction of this decoration, _sur couverte_, for another hundred -years. - -It will be remembered that the distinctive feature of this decoration -with enamels is the use of an easily fusible silicate, containing much -lead--in fact a kind of flint glass. A glass of this description is -capable of being stained by the addition of small quantities of certain -metallic oxides, some of which would not stand the heat requisite for -the firing of the porcelain. This, in fact, is the application to -porcelain of the arts of the glass-stainer and of the enameller, arts -already at this time fully developed in the West. For once the Chinese -authorities all agree in finding in an exotic and indeed Western art the -origin of their enamelled porcelain. When, however, we attempt to -interpret their statements we are landed in an even more than customary -chaos--so many are the different readings for the names of foreign -countries and for technical processes. - -Let us then consider for a moment what the materials were that the -Chinese had to draw from--whether from Arab or other sources. - -Putting aside the application of stained glass to windows, for specimens -of this art are not easily exported, these may be summed up as, first, -the enamelled glass of the Saracens, and secondly, the _cloisonnés_ and -_champlevés_ enamels of the Byzantines and other Western nations. - -As to the first--the application of coloured and easily fusible enamels -to the surface of glass, which was then exposed to a second firing--this -process had been used by the Arabs for the decoration of their mosque -lamps and other vessels probably as early as the twelfth century, and -this was an art identical in its system with the application of the same -colours to the surface of porcelain. The beauty of the effect cannot -have failed to have struck the Chinese if they had had any opportunity -of seeing the finer specimens. But the material was fragile, and apart -from a statement by M. Scherer that glass was exported from Aleppo to -China,[44] I cannot find in the accounts of the Arab trade of the time -any record of such ware being imported into China. - -On the other hand, we know that enamels on metal are first mentioned in -the Ming annals about the middle of the fifteenth century. They take -their name of Cheng-tai enamels from the emperor who reigned at that -period; but the proper Chinese term for such enamels is _Folang chien -yao_--‘the inlaid ware of Folang.’ Julien interpreted these words -‘_Porcelaines à incrustations (ornées d’émaux) de France_,’ and Dr. -Hirth carries us to Bethlehem! But the word _Folang_ is probably the -same as the term _Folin_ or _Fulen_, used as early as the sixth century -for the Roman empire of the East, and it may possibly be connected with -the Greek πόλις (cf. Stamboul = Εἰς τὴν πόλιν).[45] It is -definitely stated by a later Chinese writer that the same colours are -employed by both the enameller on metal and the decorator of porcelain. - -If we examine the colours found on both the wares to which we have -tentatively traced back the enamelled porcelain of the Chinese--the -enamels on glass on the one hand, and those on metal on the -other--taking in each case the earlier specimens as examples, we find on -the mosque lamps from Cairo little except a deep blue generally used as -a ground for a design which is outlined in an opaque iron red. On the -famous flask from Würzburg, now in the British Museum, for which a -‘Mesopotamian’ origin of the thirteenth century is claimed, a turquoise -blue relieved by gilding is the predominant note; there is also a -sparing use of yellow, of an opaque white, and, what is especially -interesting, of a fine pinkish red, which is possibly obtained from -gold. (The way in which this colour is shaded into the opaque white -reminds us of the similar use of the _rouge d’or_ in later times in -China.) - -If, on the other hand, we turn to the earlier Chinese enamels on metal, -the so-called Ching-tai vases, attributed to the fifteenth century, we -find among the colours used an opaque iron red, a yellow, an opaque -white, and finally two kinds of blue, a turquoise and a full deep blue -that looks like a cobalt colour.[46] - -Some time, then, during the sixteenth century, whether before or after -the accession of Wan-li (1572), the Chinese began to decorate the -surface of their porcelain with jewel-like enamels _appliqués_ to the -glaze. At first, apparently, these colours were confined to three: a -copper green, a yellow generally of a buff tint, probably containing -antimony as well as iron, and a purple derived from manganese. These are -the _San-tsai_ or three colours of the Chinese writers, and it will be -seen that they differ from the colour triad of our ‘painted glazes’ -(painted, that is, on biscuit and reheated in the _demi grand feu_) in -that the copper silicate is of a turquoise blue in the latter, and in -the former of a full leafy green. The Chinese authorities further tell -us that a second scheme of decoration was given by the _Wu-tsai_ or the -five colours which were made up by the three already mentioned, with the -addition of an opaque red derived from the sesqui-oxide of iron -(otherwise known as hæmatite, bole or red ochre),[47] and finally of a -cobalt blue, _sous couverte_, surviving as it were from the earlier blue -and white ware, for, as we have mentioned, the use of the blue as an -enamel over the glaze belongs to a later period. - -So much for the teaching of the Chinese books; but when, attacking the -subject from the other side, we examine the specimens of enamelled ware -which for one reason or another--the coarseness and thickness of the -paste, the moulded form, and the irregular surface--we should be -inclined to attribute to the Ming dynasty, we are led to classify these -earlier examples somewhat as follows:-- - -1. On a white ground a design, often, it would seem, of textile origin, -roughly painted in an opaque red (like sealing-wax), with the addition -of a leafy green and very rarely of a little yellow. This is a class of -decoration much imitated in Japan at a later date, especially by the -artist potters of Kioto and at Inuyama. - -2. The same colours with the addition of blue, _sous couverte_. The -design often takes the form of figures in a landscape, the whole broadly -treated. The earliest type of the Imari ware (apart from the Kakiyemon) -seems to be based on this scheme of decoration. - -Both these classes are distinguished by the white ground, the sparing -use of yellow, and the almost complete absence of manganese purple and -turquoise blue. - -3. A transparent enamel of leafy green, yellow and manganese purple -painted on in washes so as to cover the whole ground. When with these -colours we find the outline drawn in black, we have the basis of a large -part of the _famille verte_. On the other hand, it is this class of -decoration which probably carries on the tradition of the early Ming -ware, sometimes described as ‘enamelled,’ but more probably all of it -painted on the biscuit and fired in the _demi grand feu_. - -In China it would seem that these enamelled wares - -[Illustration: _PLATE VII._ CHINESE] - -were at first treated with a certain disfavour, if not with contempt, at -least by the more cultivated classes. During Ming times, though -porcelain thus decorated was doubtless made at King-te-chen, it was, at -least up to the latter part of the reign of Wan-li, chiefly made in -private factories. In fact we find a censor, in the reign of that -emperor, protesting against the use of enamel colours (the _wu-tsai_) in -the porcelain supplied to the palace (Bushell, p. 241). - -We have now sketched out a description of the various kinds of porcelain -made during the course of the Ming dynasty, and before going on at once -to an account of the period associated with King-te-chen and the great -rulers of the Manchu dynasty, it will be well to extract a few notes on -points that may interest us from the somewhat voluminous records and -descriptions of the porcelain of Ming times found in the books of the -Chinese authorities.[48] - -YUNG-LO (1402-24).[49]--This great emperor, who sent out ships for -conquest and for commerce as far as Ceylon, is for us especially -associated with a white eggshell porcelain of which there are two -remarkable specimens in the British Museum (see above, p. 67). Bowls of -this thinness must have been pared down on the lathe, after throwing on -the wheel, in the manner described on p. 22, until a mere translucent -ghost of the original body was left, so that the name _to-t’ai_ or -‘bodiless,’ by which this ware is known to the Chinese, is not -inappropriate. The earliest blue and white porcelain of which there is -any definite record was made in this reign, but the evidence for this -is, of course, purely ‘documentary.’ The quality of the blue is said to -have been surpassed only by that of the Hsuan-te and Cheng-hua periods. - -HSUAN-TE (1425-35).--The short reign of this emperor is connected in the -mind of the Chinese with the finest works both of the metal worker and -the potter. This period gave its name to the famous pale bronze so -admired in later days by the Japanese.[50] The blue of the Hsuan-te -period, unsurpassed in later times, we are told, was derived from Arab -sources, for the famous _Su-ni-po_ and _Su-ma-li_ blues are first -mentioned at this time. The word _Su-ma-li_ has been compared with the -low Latin _Smaltum_, the prepared silicate of cobalt used by the -mediæval glass-stainers, but from the description of this substance in -the Chinese books, it would seem rather to have been of the nature of a -native ore. When, however, we read in the same books of the origin of -the brilliant red for which this reign was equally famous, how it was -prepared from ‘powdered rubies of the West,’ we see how little reliance -we can place in their accounts. This red, derived of course from the -sub-oxide of copper, was applied either to cover the whole surface, as -in the little bowls mentioned on p. 81 (‘painted on the biscuit,’ says -Dr. Bushell, but is this necessarily so?), or for the painting of a -design in this case both alone and in combination with blue. We hear -also of large jars and garden seats of a coarse porcelain, with dark -blue and turquoise ground and decoration of ribbed cloisons, which were -first made in this reign. Of this class we have spoken at length when -treating of the ‘painted glazes.‘[51] Of what nature the decoration in -five colours, which is also referred to this reign, may have been, it -is difficult to say--we have no specimen so painted that we can assign -to so old a period, but in this connection we certainly must not think -of enamels painted over the glaze. - -CHENG-TUNG reigned from 1435 to 1449; he was then captured by the -Mongols, and during the five years of his imprisonment his brother -Cheng-tai reigned in his stead. When Cheng-tung returned from his -captivity he adopted a fresh name.[52] This is the only instance of a -double nien-hao in later Chinese history. We hear of Cheng-tai in -connection with the introduction of enamels on metal, but for the -history of porcelain both reigns are a blank. - -CHENG-HUA (1464-87).--This is a name familiar to collectors. It is found -more frequently than any other on highly finished vases dating really -from the eighteenth century. Strangely enough, this is the favourite -mark on the finest blue and white of this later time, although, as we -have already pointed out, the Chinese books tell us that, the sources of -the foreign cobalt blue being in Cheng-hua’s time exhausted, more -attention was given to coloured decoration. This was the time of the -famous ‘chicken-cups,’ for which such fabulous sums were given. These -cups are described as decorated with the wu-tsai or five colours; and -the subject painted on them, a hen and chickens by the side of a -flowering peony-bush, reminds one of the enamelled egg-shell cups of -Kien-lung (1735-95). The Ming cups were copied, we are told, at that -time; but it is difficult to connect this early ware, of which -unfortunately we possess no specimen, with the delicate enamel -decoration of the _famille rose_.[53] - -HUNG-CHI (1487-1505).--This name appears especially on the back of -bowls in association with a yellow glaze of various shades, and, in -agreement this time with the material evidence, the Chinese books -mention this yellow as a speciality of the reign. Not that we can regard -all yellow ware with this mark as even of this dynasty; like other Ming -ware it was imitated in the eighteenth century. The yellow varies from -the pale brown of the raw chestnut to a full gamboge tint. There is at -South Kensington a dish or shallow bowl with a full yellow glaze; on the -back beside the nien-hao of Hung-chi, a Persian inscription and a date -corresponding to the sixteenth century has been cut in the paste. - -CHENG-TE (1505-21).--The decoration of blue on a white ground is said to -have been revived in this reign. A new material, the _hui-ching_[54] or -Mohammedan blue, was obtained from Yun-nan. In connection with this, we -can point to a curious collection of bronze and porcelain, with both -Arabic and Chinese inscriptions, made probably for Mohammedan Chinese. -These objects were obtained by the late Sir A. W. Franks from Pekin, and -are now in the British Museum. Among them there are several pieces of -blue and white with the Cheng-te year-mark.[55] On one of these pieces -the Persian word for ‘writing-case’ forms part of the decoration (PL. -VIII.). It is in this reign that we hear for the first time of the -oppression exercised by the court officials upon the potters of -King-te-chen, and now also we find the court eunuchs in the highest -positions,--the great days of the Ming dynasty are already passed. - -KIA-TSING (1521-66).--The name of this emperor is often found on blue -and white porcelain, and it is a favourite one with the Japanese -imitators. Some - -[Illustration: _PLATE VIII._ CHINESE, BLUE AND WHITE WARE] - -specimens in our collections, of a fine sapphire blue (the colour is -indeed often inclined to run), may perhaps be referred to this reign. -The demands for the court were very extensive, and if we are to trust -the list of articles quoted by Dr. Bushell from the Fou-liang annals, -the porcelain made for the palace during this period was, with the -exception of a little of that with a brown ground, confined to blue and -white ware. - -LUNG-KING (1566-72).--The bad reputation of this emperor is reflected in -the porcelain of the time--indeed the erotic character of the decoration -is the one point noted in the annals. The mark of this reign is rarely -found. There is, however, in the British Museum a large square support -or plinth, decorated with a blue of magnificent sapphire hue, which -bears the Lung-king nien-hao. - -WAN-LI (1572-1619).--Of the porcelain surviving from Ming times, a very -large proportion probably belongs to this reign. It was now that the -European trade was beginning to reach large proportions, and the -exportation both to India and Persia was greater than ever. It was a -time above all for the manufacture of large pieces, but we must not look -any longer for the refinement and scholarly traditions of earlier Ming -periods. Dr. Bushell tells us that large bowls of the Wan-li ware are -still in use in the shops and stalls of Pekin. For us the difficulty is -to distinguish the blue and white ware of this reign from that made for -exportation during the next half century, a period during which the -annals of the Chinese authorities are a blank. The reign of Wan-li is -above all the period during which the use of enamel colours became -prevalent, and now, for the first time, some of the ware made for the -palace was, in spite of the protests of the censor, so decorated. But we -will reserve what we have to say on the origin of Chinese enamelled ware -until we come to treat of the progress made in the reign of Kang-he. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE PORCELAIN OF CHINA--(_continued_). - - -THE MANCHU OR TSING DYNASTY (1643--). - -KANG-HE.--After the death of Wan-li, in 1619, there is a long gap in the -history of Chinese porcelain. Some twenty years later, the last emperor -of the native dynasty was driven out by the Manchu Tatars, and the -dynasty which still reigns in the country was founded. But neither -during the reign of the first emperor of the new Tsing or ‘Pure’ -dynasty, nor indeed during the first part of the long reign of his great -successor Kang-he (1661-1722), was much attention given to the imperial -factory at King-te-chen. The early years of Kang-he’s reign were -occupied with quelling the last efforts of the native Chinese party. We -may date the revival of active work from the appointment of Tsang -Ying-hsuan,[56] in the year 1683, to the post of superintendent at the -porcelain works. It was then, after an interval of more than sixty -years--almost a blank in the history of Chinese porcelain--that the -great renaissance set in, and we may date from that time the beginning -of the last great stage in that history--a stage which was to last for -another hundred years. During that period a succession of able and -enthusiastic men were in charge of the imperial works. With the support -of the great emperors who ruled in China for three long generations, -they were able to bring the manufacture of porcelain to a point of -perfection reached neither before nor since, and to produce that -wonderful series of vases, bowls, and plates that now fill the museums -and private collections of Europe and America. - -It will perhaps be better to carry on our hasty historical sketch down -to the period of decline at the end of the eighteenth century, before -turning to the letters of the Père D’Entrecolles and his account of the -great city of the potter--King-te-chen. We shall then be in a better -position to understand the almost endless series of different wares that -were turned out from the kilns of that town in the eighteenth century. -We can finally make a rapid survey of the porcelain of China, picking up -many threads that have been dropped in the course of our historical -review. - -We have seen that the Chinese authorities when describing the coloured -ware of the Ming period speak of two ‘triads’ of colours. One, the -_turquoise_, purple and yellow group, we have identified with the ware -painted on the biscuit and reheated in the _demi grand feu_; while the -other, the _green_, purple and yellow class may be regarded as one of -the earliest forms of true enamel or muffle decoration. These two -classes were now in the earlier days of Kang-he brought to greater -perfection, and as by this time we have come to a period when the finer -wares began to be largely exported direct to Europe, we meet with many -specimens of these wares in our collections. - -In the first of these groups the _Turquoise_ is the predominant -colour--indeed it is often found alone (PL. IX.). As a monochrome ware -it is distinguished by a fine crackle, which is always present but is -often only to be seen by a close examination. How much it is sought -after by collectors is shown by the fact mentioned by Dr. Bushell, that -in the Walters collection there are more than a hundred specimens of -this monochrome blue, and of these the majority probably date from the -reign of Kang-he. A combination of this turquoise with aubergine purple -derived from manganese was in favour at this time not only for the -little _magots_ and for small vases, but also for larger decorative -pieces as well as for tables and stands for other objects. It was above -all this combination that was copied by Zengoro and others for the -‘Oniwa’ ware of the Princes of Kishiu, and some of this Japanese -porcelain is very difficult to distinguish from the Chinese original. -The aubergine purple, like the turquoise, always finely crackled, is -seldom found alone in Chinese examples, but this is often the case on -the Kishiu ware. The third colour of the triad, the yellow, is quite -subordinate; there were evidently great difficulties in producing a fine -tint under the conditions of the _demi grand feu_. In like manner in the -early Ming ware, that with the ribbed cloisons, the yellow was only used -sparingly for the petals of a flower or for a chain of pearls. It should -be noted that this ware of Kang-he differs from its Ming predecessor in -the absence of the dark blue glaze. - -FAMILLE VERTE.--In the first triad, that of the _demi grand feu_, the -turquoise blue, as we have seen, is the predominant colour. Its place is -taken in the triad of the muffle-stove by the green, which in many -shades of intensity, but with a prevailing leafy hue, has come to be -especially associated with the enamelled wares of this reign.[57] - -[Illustration: _PLATE IX._ CHINESE] - -It would be possible to make many subdivisions of this class--the -well-known _famille verte_. In the majority of cases the ground is -covered by a wash of one of the colours, so as to resemble a painted -glaze. It will, however, always be found on close examination that the -wash is _superimposed_ on the true colourless glaze, which may generally -be seen at the mouth and foot. A green of greater or lesser strength, -sometimes quite a thin wash, is the commonest colour for this ground; at -other times it is of a pale straw colour, or, more rarely, a purple of a -poor uncertain hue.[58] - -It will be observed that in the muffle-stove the fine aubergine purple -that we noted in the class last described is rarely to be obtained from -manganese. In all cases the white ground is only left sparingly as a -reserve for the petals of flowers and for the faces. In addition to -these colours--the green, the yellow, and the purple--which are for the -most part used as washes, a dark brown or black is largely employed for -outlining the details of the decoration, as well as for tempering the -colour of the background by covering it with scrolls and spirals. - -When this decoration is applied to the small moulded pieces--the -_magots_, for instance, so admired by the French collectors of the -eighteenth century--we have a class of objects to which the descriptions -(in the Bushell manuscript and elsewhere) of the decorated ware of the -fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries would seem to apply. As we have -seen, it is at the least very doubtful whether these early pieces were -decorated _over the glaze_, but in a general view it cannot fail to -strike one that the Kang-he decoration, in which washes of colour[59] -play so important a part, belongs to an earlier school than that of the -Wan-li porcelain, with its designs and medallions scattered over a white -ground. These last patterns are, it would seem, derived from textile -fabrics, from the rich brocades of the time, both Chinese and, possibly, -foreign. In the _famille verte_ of Kang-he’s time, on the other hand, we -may perhaps see a return, in general effect at least, to the _san-tsai_ -and _wu-tsai_ painted glazes of earlier Ming time. - -When in place of the wash of green (or may be of yellow) the background -is formed by a black enamel, we still feel the prevailing influence of -the green in the decoration, so that these black-ground vases are -rightly included in the _famille verte_. The black background itself is -often of a greenish quality, and in the designs the camellia-leaf green -is predominant; yellow and purple are but sparingly introduced, but the -effect is heightened by the white reserves (PL. X.). In many cases a -wash of green appears to have been carried over the black ground. This -green enamel may be often seen overlapping, as it were, on the foot of a -vase. - -It would be difficult to find in the whole range of Chinese porcelain -anything more superbly decorative - -[Illustration: _PLATE X_ CHINESE] - -than some of these large black-grounded vases in the Salting collection. -We would call attention to one example on which the thin skin-like glaze -of the dull ground and the somewhat archaic drawing of the great dragon -that curls round the side suggest a date earlier than that of its -companions (PL. XI.). And yet these fine vases are wanting in two -elements which we are accustomed to regard as essential to the best -porcelain: they neither display to any extent the natural white colour -of the paste,[60] nor is the outline dependent on the motion of the clay -under the potter’s hand. Nearly all these vases, as indeed most of the -large vessels of this time, are built up from segments made in moulds. - -What rich effects of colour are here obtained with a palette so -restricted! Perhaps not a little of the beauty of this decoration is due -to this very restriction. It will be noticed that we have in the more -characteristic examples a total absence of all shades both of red and of -blue. - -In the other not less important division of the enamel decoration of -this time these last two colours are added, and we come again to a -pentad of colours--not, however, quite the same as the _wu-tsai_ of -Wan-li times. We are still under the influence of the _famille verte_: -the leafy green in two or more shades remains the predominant colour, -the opaque red is used more sparingly than in the later Ming enamelled -ware, and above all the cobalt blue is now used _as an enamel colour -over the glaze_. This latter use points to an important advance in -technique, and it affords an easy means of distinguishing the wares of -the two periods. The new method of employing the blue is, however, often -only to be recognised by close examination in a favourable light. What -at once distinguishes the newer ware is rather the displacement of the -opaque red of the Ming porcelain by the characteristic green of the -Kang-he time as the _dominant_ colour. When this full complement of five -colours is used, the general scheme of the design, however, follows more -on the lines of the Wan-li ware; we find sprays of flowers or figure -subjects relieved upon the white ground. But the drawing of the newer -ware is somewhat more realistic, and there is generally a greater -finish. In rare cases the five colours are combined with the black -ground, as may be seen on two large vases in the British Museum, but the -effect is not so happy as that obtained with a simpler range of colours. - -There is another position in which these five enamel colours may be -found together--in the decoration of the white reserves left between -grounds of _bleu poudré_ and _fond laque_. This was a form of decoration -much admired in Europe, and one of the earliest imitated. This _fond -laque_ ware of various shades, with reserved panels decorated with -flowers or figures, has retained among dealers the designation of -Batavian porcelain, a name which, like our old terms Gombroon and East -Indian, throws light on the route by which it reached Europe. The deep -blue vases covered with elaborate designs in gold were also exported -before the end of the seventeenth century; of these large specimens have -been sometimes found in India. There is a tall vase of this ware in the -Indian Museum at South Kensington--the gilding, as is often the case, -has almost entirely disappeared. - -In the historical development of our subject, which we are now following -with greater or less strictness, we are only concerned with important -developments and fresh types as they from time to time arise. We have -therefore little to say for the present of the blue and white and of the -wares with monochrome glazes of which we - -[Illustration: Plate XI. - -_Chinese. Black ground._] - -have so many superb specimens dating from the reign of Kang-he. We must, -however, mention in passing the brilliant _sang de bœuf_ vases -especially associated with the early years of this emperor. As in the -case of the ‘transmutation’ or _flambé_ glazes, the deep red colour of -this ware is produced by the action of a reducing flame upon a silicate -of copper. It is known in China as Lang yao, and there has been some -misconception as to the origin of the term. If, as the best authorities -tell us, we are to derive the name from Lang Ting-tso, the famous -viceroy of the Two Kiangs (the provinces of Kiangsi and Kiangnan) at the -time of the accession of Kang-he, the earliest form of this Lang yao -must be associated with a period (say about the years 1654-1668) which -is otherwise quite sterile in the annals of Chinese porcelain. - -YUNG-CHENG (1722-1735).--When in 1722, after a reign of more than sixty -years, Kang-he,[61] perhaps the greatest of all the emperors of China, -died, we find a note of alarm sounded by the Jesuit fathers. Unlike his -father, Yung-cheng the new emperor was regarded as a supporter of the -most conservative traditions, and no friend of the Christian -missionaries. What, however, is important to us is the fact that as -crown-prince he was known not only as a patron of the works at -King-te-chen, but as himself an amateur potter of distinction. The Père -D’Entrecolles, writing before Yung-cheng’s accession to the throne, -tells us that it was his habit to send down from Pekin examples of -ancient wares to be copied at the imperial factory. This influence, -exercised in a conservative direction, is reflected in the porcelain -produced during his reign. - -This is indeed a critical point in the history of Chinese porcelain. We -are reminded of some similar periods in the development of our Western -arts, when it begins to become evident that a command of material and a -technical finish have been attained at the expense of all spontaneity -and freshness of expression. Some such tendency was accompanied at this -time in China by a careful and deliberate imitation of ancient forms and -glazes. Under Nien Hsi-yao, the new superintendent at King-te-chen, some -advance was certainly made--we shall speak of the _Nien yao_ and the new -colours that distinguished it directly. We must not overlook, however, -the influence of the foreign demand which more and more made itself -felt, an influence opposed to the conservative and classical tastes of -the emperor. - -But when we run through the long list, under fifty-seven headings, of -the various wares copied at King-te-chen at this time,[62] we see how -strong this classical influence was. In fact, this catalogue is one of -our best sources of information for the ancient, and especially for the -Sung, wares. The chief concern of the compiler was with the glazes, for -no attempt seems to have been made to copy the thick and rough pastes of -the early days.[63] We can infer from some of the heads of the list that -most of the highly perfected glazes of the day, ranging through every -shade of colour, were considered to be but modifications of the old -simple glazes of Sung times. This was an essentially Chinese way of -looking at the matter, and by this indirect path it was possible to -reach the most novel effects. Among the later headings of Nien’s list -(it was to some extent chronologically arranged) we find mention of -copies of Japanese wares, and frequent reference is made to colours and -decorations of European origin. We shall have to make more than one -reference to this important catalogue in a later chapter. - -It was under the _régime_ of Nien Hsi-yao that this list was drawn up. -He was the second of the great viceroys whose names are associated with -the emperors Kang-he, Yung-cheng, and Kien-lung respectively. He -succeeded to Tsang Ying-hsuan, and was followed in the next reign by -Tang-ying. The wares made during the administration of these -superintendents are known in chronological order as _Tsang yao_, _Nien -yao_, and _Tang yao_. This Nien did not regard his post by any means as -a sinecure. He frequently visited the works, and required samples of the -imperial ware to be sent every two months to his official residence for -inspection (Bushell, p. 361). - -The _Nien yao_, to the Chinese collector, is especially associated with -certain monochrome glazes--above all with the _clair de lune_--the _yueh -pai_ or ‘moon-white,’ and with a brilliant red glaze with stippled -surface, a near cousin to the _sang de bœuf_ and _flambé_ classes. There -is another ‘self-glaze’ ware which dates from this time, of which the -mingled tints depend, as in the case of the _flambé_, upon the varying -degrees of oxidation of the copper in the glaze. This is the -‘peach-bloom,’ the ‘apple red and green’ of the Chinese. The charm of -this delicate ware is of another kind to that to be found in the -vigorous flashes of colour of the transmutation glazes. - -We can trace at this time the gradual introduction of two new colours -that give so special a character to the wares of the next reign. I mean -the pink derived from gold and the lemon-yellow. These colours were used -sparingly and with great delicacy at first, but we come to associate -them at a later time with a period of decline and of bad taste. - -KIEN-LUNG (1735-1795).--It was during the long reign of this emperor, -poet and patron of all the arts, that the new direction which we find -given to the porcelain made in the reign of his father, Yung-cheng, -became even more accentuated--on the one hand, the copying of old glazes -and the employment of archaic hieratic patterns for decoration, on the -other, the more and more frequent use of new colours and new designs of -non-Chinese origin. This latter tendency was fostered both by the -eclectic tastes of Kien-lung himself and also by the increasing -importance of the demand for foreign countries. Great care was given to -the paste--it was required to be of a snowy (or rather sometimes chalky) -whiteness, tending neither towards yellow nor towards blue, and so -carefully finished on the lathe that on the uniform glassy surface of -the finer specimens no signs were left of the movement of the potter’s -wheel;[64] for compared with the ware produced in Ming times, and even -during the reign of Kang-he, we now note the greater proportion of -pieces thrown on the wheel. At no time has the skill of the potter who -threw the clay, and of the workman who then pared and smoothed the -surface on the lathe, been brought to a greater perfection, and this -applies not only to the eggshell china, but to the large vases and -beakers, so perfect in their outline. The same perfection of technique -is found in the decoration, so that a blue and white vase of this period -can at once be recognised in spite of the pseudo-archaic decoration and -the Ming _nien hao_ inscribed on the base. When the new colours are -introduced the date is, of course, approximately fixed, and we may -probably associate with the beginning of this reign (or perhaps a little -earlier; see note on p. 110) the first use of the _rouge d’or_ which has -given its name to a well-known class of porcelain--the _famille rose_. - -A manageable red had long been a desideratum. There was no more -treacherous material than the basic copper oxide, whether painted under -or mixed with the glaze. As an over-glaze source of red this pigment was -of course unavailable, while the opaque brick-like tints obtained from -iron, though in keeping with the rougher, picturesque decoration of -early times, did not harmonise well with the delicate style of painting -now in fashion,[65] so that it is not surprising that the beautiful pink -tint obtained from gold carried all before it. The gold was probably -incorporated with the enamel flux in the form of purple of Cassius, -which is readily prepared by dissolving gold in a mixture of nitric acid -and sal-ammoniac and adding some fragments of tin. The colour had been -known for some time in Europe--we can perhaps even trace this pink tint -on enamelled Arab glass of the fourteenth century (see p. 89).[66] A -very small quantity of this material goes a long way, especially when -used to give a gradated tint to a white opaque enamel, as on the petal -of a flower. As a colour it is singularly harmonious, and in a period of -decline helped to ‘keep together’ the motley array of enamels used along -with it. - -There is nothing more popular in the work of this time than the little -egg-shell plates, decorated with flowers and birds, for which such high -prices are given by collectors. The original type, for both ware and -decoration, is probably in this case to be found in the ‘chicken-cups’ -of Cheng-hua’s reign. - -On the plates of this ware the borders are filled with elaborate and -minutely finished diapers and scrolls, evidently taken from silk -brocades; indeed, the gold threads of the woof are sometimes directly -imitated; the centre is occupied by a picture, either a flower piece or -a _genre_ figure scene (PL. XII.). We may connect these designs with the -works of the naturalistic colour school of the time, many of the finest -of which have been preserved by Japanese collectors. A very frequent -subject is a rocky bank from which grow peonies, narcissi, or other -flowers, and under which two or more chickens or sometimes quails are -grouped. The petals of the flowers are rendered by a white opaque enamel -in high relief, often with a flush of pink, imitating the _tour de -force_ by which the painters of the time, by a single stroke of the -brush, produced a full gradation of colour. Indeed, the same artists -doubtless painted both on silk, on paper, and on porcelain. We may -compare their work to that of the fan-painters and miniaturists who were -employed to decorate the panels of Sèvres porcelain, at this very time, -with pastoral scenes and flower pieces. The Chinese enamellers rarely -signed their work; but there is a plate in the British Museum with the -name of a Canton artist. This gives a hint as to where most of the work -was done. But the most remarkable instance of signed work of this period -is found on a series of large plates in the Dresden Museum. On these a -Chinese artist, some time before the middle of the eighteenth century, -has painted a series of designs of birds and flowers, and in one -instance at least a graceful female figure. On the field, in each case, -we find a seal character (accompanied either by a smaller mark contained -in a circle, or by an artemisia leaf) which indicates the painter’s -name. With true artistic feeling he has succeeded in filling the surface -of the plate with a graceful decoration, and at the same time he gives -us a series of delightful pictures, employing the full range of the -enamel colours at his command. And in thus combining a decorative design -with an accurate - -[Illustration: _PLATE XII_ CHINESE] - -rendering of natural objects, the Chinese artist has succeeded in doing -what has never been accomplished by any European painter on porcelain. - -In decoration of this kind, however, only the very best work pleases; in -anything below this we get at once to what is vulgar and trite; and the -larger palette now at the painter’s command only makes it easier for him -to produce the unpleasant combinations of colours so frequent in the -wares exported from China after the end of the eighteenth century. On -the other hand, the older painters, confined to their three or at most -five colours, seldom fail to produce an agreeable effect, however -roughly their colours are daubed on. - -In the _genre_ scenes, as in the case of the flower pieces, a realistic -tendency is prominent. We have no longer the Taoist saints or the -hunting and battle pieces of earlier times, but delicately executed -interiors with graceful figures of girls arranging flowers or painting -fans, or again, landscapes with men travelling by road or by river. -There is a refinement of colour and a charm of drawing and composition -in the better specimens of this somewhat effeminate school that appeals -to every one. It is difficult for us to find any marked European -influence in the designs of this time, and yet these pictures are -classed by the Chinese as European in style; and it is not quite clear -whether this refers only to the enamel colours employed or to the manner -of drawing as well. Most of the work of this kind was doubtless made for -the European market and painted at Canton. But is this the case with the -finest examples? Kien-lung himself was, it would seem, no despiser of -this carefully decorated ware. A poem of his composition, signed with -the vermilion seal, is often found on this egg-shell porcelain. - -On some of the most highly finished of the little cups and plates we -find an elaborate scroll decoration in gold and sometimes in silver; and -in these designs we may perhaps trace the influence of the baroque -style in vogue at this time in Europe. - -Nien resigned his post when his master in the year 1735 had ‘flown up to -heaven like a dragon,’ and the new emperor, Kien-lung, appointed in his -place Tang-ying, who had long served under him. The new director was no -less an enthusiast than his predecessor. He tells us in his memoirs--for -he was a man of literary taste like his master, Kien-lung--that he -served his apprenticeship with the workmen, sharing his meals and his -sleeping-room with them, following in this the proverb which says ‘the -farmer may learn something from his bondman, and the weaver from the -handmaid who holds the thread for her mistress.’ - -We hear that new tints of turquoise (_fei-tsui_) and of rose-red -(_mei-kwei_) were introduced by him, and we may perhaps identify these -colours with certain shades of pink and turquoise blue that became -prevalent about this time. In both these cases the pigment is mixed with -some amount of arsenic or tin so that the enamel is nearly opaque, and -this enamel is now spread over the ground, taking the place of the glaze -which lies beneath. The effect, though apparently admired by some -collectors, is heavy and unpleasant. The pink, which we may consider as -a Chinese equivalent of the _rose Pompadour_ (it is uncertain whether -the French or the Chinese were the first to use the _rouge d’or_ -colours), is generally more or less opaque, with a granular surface; it -is often found covering a paste inscribed with fine scrolls.[67] - -[Illustration: _PLATE XIII._ CHINESE] - -In the case of the pale opaque blue (to which the name of turquoise may -be applied more aptly than to the sky-coloured transparent blues of the -_demi grand feu_), the surface of the enamel is sometimes painted with -an irregular net-work of black lines, as if in imitation of some kind of -marble. This turquoise enamel towards the end of Kien-lung’s reign was -often applied to the surface of large vases, and when in combination -with a lemon-yellow decoration the effect is even more unpleasant than -when used alone. - -We have mentioned, when speaking of Yung-cheng’s reign, a valuable list -of the various kinds of porcelain made at that time at King-te-chen. We -must now refer to another document, quoted, like the list of Nien’s -time, in all the Chinese books dealing with the history of the imperial -porcelain works. The emperor Kien-lung, it would appear, when -overhauling certain manuscripts preserved in the palace, came upon a -series of twenty water-colour drawings illustrating the manufacture of -porcelain. He at once summoned Tang-ying, the famous superintendent at -King-te-chen, to Pekin, and, handing over the drawings, commanded him to -prepare a full description of all the processes illustrated in these -pictures. This was in 1743, shortly before Tang’s retirement. The -drawings themselves have never been made public; but we have in Tang’s -report what is, after the letters of the Jesuit father, our most -important source for the technical details of the manufacture of -porcelain in China. With these details we are not concerned just now, -but we will quote from Dr. Bushell’s translation a disquisition on -certain principles that should govern the forms and decoration of -porcelain. This is a kind of _obiter dictum_ of Tang-ying, _à propos_ of -the fashioning and painting of vases. In his flowery style he tells us -(I abbreviate in a few places): ‘In the decoration of porcelain correct -canons of art should be followed. The designs should be taken from the -patterns of old brocades and embroidery; the colours from a garden as -seen in spring-time from a pavilion. There is an abundance of specimens -of ware of the Sung dynasty at hand to be copied; the elements of nature -supply an inexhaustible fund of materials for new combinations of -supernatural beauty. Natural objects are modelled to be fashioned in -moulds and painted in appropriate colours. _The materials of the -potter’s art are derived from forests and streams, and ornamental themes -are supplied by the same natural sources._‘[68] It is a strange fancy -which connects the decoration of a vase with the source of the materials -with which it is made. Elsewhere, speaking of the painting of the blue -and white ware, Tang-ying says: ‘For painting of flowers and of birds, -fishes and water-plants, and living objects generally, the study of -nature is the first requisite. In the imitation of Ming porcelain and of -ancient pieces, the sight of many specimens brings skill.’ We see in -this a kind of hesitation, a balancing between two influences--the -naturalistic and the traditional--which is characteristic of the period. - -We may call attention, by the way, to the important place that is given -in this report to the process of moulding in the fashioning of a vase, -especially as _supplementary_ to the throwing on the wheel, and above -all, to the care required in the turning and polishing on the jigger or -lathe to ensure accuracy of outline in the finished piece. - -The last picture described by Tang-ying illustrates the worshipping of -the local god and the offering of sacrifice. And we are told the story -of how, when the great dragon-bowls failed time after time, and when, in -consequence, the workmen were harassed by the eunuchs sent down by the -Ming emperor, Tung the potter leaped into the furnace; and how, after -this sacrifice, when the kilns were opened, the bowls were at last found -perfect in shape and brilliant in colour. So Tung was worshipped as the -potter’s god; and, indeed, Tang-ying tells us, as a voucher for the -truth of his story, that in his time one of these very dragon -fish-bowls, ‘compounded of the blood and bones of the deity,’ still -stood in the courtyard of the temple, a witness to the sacrifice -(Bushell, chapter xv). - -Tang-ying resigned his post in 1746; his influence was therefore only -felt during the first years of Kien-lung’s long reign. His is the last -name that can be personally connected with any Chinese ware, unless it -be that of the emperor his master. - -Kien-lung was a poet, and a very productive one--his complete works were -published in an edition of 360 volumes, containing nearly 34,000 -separate compositions. These are generally occasional pieces suggested -by the aspects of nature. Such verses are not unfrequently found on the -egg-shell porcelain of his time, signed, too, with the vermilion pencil. -There is quite a long poem of his on a dish of thin ware now in the -Musée Guimet in Paris. - -The emperor interested himself in a new kind of opaque glass made in -Pekin by a skilful artist, one Hu, and he sent specimens of this ware to -King-te-chen to be imitated in the nobler material, as he deemed it. -This was effected by means of a very vitreous paste, and the little -snuff-bottles moulded in high relief in this material are much prized -both by Chinese and American collectors. - -There was, indeed, at this time a rage for imitating other substances in -porcelain, which was doubtless fostered by the increased command of -technical processes and of new colours. A good deal of the porcelain -covered with black or sometimes brown lacquer,[69] inlaid with -mother-of-pearl, the _laque burgauté_ of the French, dates perhaps from -an earlier period. But the little snuff-bottles, imitating jade, -pudding-stone, agate, turquoise, as well as silver, gold, and bronze of -varied patinas, or again the rusted surface of iron--to say nothing of -wood, bamboo, and mother-of-pearl--may, with few exceptions, be -attributed to this time. We may compare such work to the contemporary -triumphs of the Japanese in lacquer.[70] - -But by the middle of the century it is no longer the demand of the court -that gives the general tone to the productions of King-te-chen. The -taste for Oriental wares had spread among the middle classes in Europe. -The English were taking the place of the Dutch as the principal -exporters, and this change was reflected in a demand for a gaudy ware -crowded with a motley array of figures, the ‘mandarin china’ properly so -called. As to the extensive class of porcelain painted with -coats-of-arms and other European designs, a class well represented in -the British Museum, we will only mention that the greater part was -decorated at this time by a special school of artists at Canton, though -some pieces date from a somewhat earlier period. - -KIA-KING (1795-1820), the son and successor of Kien-lung, was like his -father a poet, but a man of weak and dissolute character. The high -finish of the previous reign was, however, maintained, and the pieces -marked with this emperor’s name are sought after by Chinese collectors. - -TAO-KWANG (1820-1850).--It is surprising that so much really good -porcelain was made at a time so troubled by foreign wars and internal -rebellion. In some of the blue and white ware of this and even the next -reign, we may sometimes see a return to the breadth and boldness of -treatment characteristic of earlier days. In the coral-red grounds of -this time, the intractable iron oxide appears to have been more -thoroughly incorporated with the glaze than at any previous period. It -is to this reign that we may assign the ‘Pekin’ or ‘Graviata’ bowls, -with reserved panels on the outside filled with flowers, landscapes, -etc., in many coloured enamels. The ground is often of a pinkish _rouge -d’or_, or in other instances of lemon yellow, blue or pale lavender. The -inside of the bowl has a decoration of blue and white. - -HSIEN-FENG (1850-61).--As at the beginning of this emperors reign the -Taiping rebels broke into Kiang-si and burned down the town of -King-te-chen, this period is of necessity a blank in the history of -porcelain. - -TUNG-CHI (1861-1874).--In the third year of this reign the rebels were -driven out from King-te-chen and the imperial works rebuilt. A large -order was at once sent from Pekin for porcelain of every description. -The details of this order, the latest of the lists of this kind to be -found in the _Annals of Kiang-si_, are only given in the edition of that -work published since the date of Julien’s translation. This list is -translated by Dr. Bushell, fifty-five headings in all, and we find in it -a curious instance of the survival of the old traditions. All the wares -mentioned in the older lists are now again requisitioned for the use of -the court. - -The Empress-Dowager, who has held the reins during the minority both of -Tung-chi and of his successor, the present emperor, is reputed to be -something of a connoisseur,[71] and to take an interest in the imperial -manufactory. Some of the better class wares from the palace and from the -temples at Pekin have quite lately found their way to England, and -specimens may be seen on loan at South Kensington. I notice especially a -set of five vessels in deep blue from the Temple of Heaven. The -execution appears to be careful, but the forms are ugly and the blue of -an unpleasant tint. In vessels of this kind, however, both shape and -colour may be governed by tradition. Mr. Hippisley, who has lived long -in China, says that for some years past the _famille verte_ wares of -Kang-he’s time, especially the vases with black ground and prunus -flowers, have been fairly well reproduced at King-te-chen, as have, -later still, the so-called ‘hawthorn ginger-jars.’ But in China, as in -France, it is with the difficulties of the copper glazes, the _flambé_ -and the _sang de bœuf_, that the majority of our contemporary ceramic -artists are striving. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE PORCELAIN OF CHINA--(continued). - - -MARKS - -We may here conveniently say something of the marks found on Chinese -porcelain. We do not propose to give any systematic account of these -marks--this is a subject indeed to which a disproportionate amount of -space has perhaps been devoted in some works on porcelain--but rather to -collect a few notes on points of interest. - -Tang-ying in his report to the emperor on the manufacture of porcelain, -from which we have lately quoted, tells us that during all the processes -of turning on the lathe, painting and glazing, a solid bar is left at -the base of the vase by which it is conveniently handled. This bar or -handle is at length cut off short, and the base of the stump is scooped -out to form the foot of the future vessel. It is at this stage that the -inscription is written by a special artist on the centre of the base, -and then brushed over with a coat of the glaze, which does not extend -over the rim to join the rest of the glazed surface. Thus we see that -the writing of the inscription and the glazing of the base are -subsequent to and independent of the decoration of the rest of the vase. -In whatever style this decoration may be, the inscription is generally -written in cobalt blue under the glaze. - -There are many varieties of Chinese writing. We pass from the oldest -‘tadpole’ forms, by way of the _chuan_ or seal character, to the -_kai-shû_, which takes the place roughly of our ordinary printed -letters. Of this last, the square detached strokes pass when written -with a brush into the more flowing ‘grass’ character. The _kai-shû_ -style is the one most frequently found on porcelain, or at least a form -something between it and the grass hand. The seal character, however, -was much favoured by the Manchu emperors, and since the time of Kang-he -has been practically the only one used for the imperial _nien-hao_ (PL. -A. 10-12).[72] - -The Chinese have two methods of indicating a date: first, by a cycle of -sixty years; second, by the name given to the whole or part of the reign -of an emperor. With the first we are not concerned, it is found so -rarely on porcelain.[73] The other, the imperial date or _nien-hao_, has -been in use ever since the time of the Han dynasty (say roughly from the -beginning of our era). Very early dates of this kind are often found on -bronzes, where, however, they are no more to be relied on than in the -case of porcelain. The inscription occurs in two forms:--first, the six -word form where the emperor’s name is preceded by that of the dynasty, -thus: _Ta Tsing Kang-he nien chi_,--‘Made in the reign of the Emperor -Kang-he of the great Tsing or Manchu dynasty’ (PL. A. 8); or second, the -first line with the name of the dynasty may be omitted, leaving only the -emperor’s name and the words _nien chi_, ‘year made,‘--for example, -_Cheng-hua nien chi_ (PL. A. 3). - -The name by which we know the emperor of China was not his personal or -family name, but was assumed on ascending the throne, and in old times -was frequently changed. But from the time of the Sung dynasty such a -change has only once occurred. This was in the case of the unfortunate -Ming emperor Cheng-tung, to whom we referred on p. 93. We rarely find -the name of any emperor of an earlier time than the Ming dynasty on -porcelain, and the few instances that do occur are obvious forgeries. -Perhaps the earliest date on Chinese porcelain with any claim to -authority is the _nien-hao_ of Yung-lo (1402-25), in quaint ‘tadpole’ -characters engraved in the paste beneath the glaze. This inscription -occurs on the thin bowl of Ting ware in the British Museum, described on -page 67 (PL. A. 1). - -We have said before, and we cannot too strongly impress this fact upon -the reader, that the vast majority of the Ming marks so frequently found -on Chinese porcelain are of no value. They teach us nothing themselves, -and when we can accept them it is on evidence derived from other -sources. As Franks observed many years ago, all we can say is that a -piece of porcelain is not older than the date which it bears. - -When we find the date inscribed in a horizontal line round the neck of a -vase, as is not infrequent in later Ming times, especially in the reign -of Wan-li[74] (1572-1619), more reliance may perhaps be put on it, as -regards ware of Chinese origin at least, for the Japanese were very fond -of decorating their blue and white ware with Ming inscriptions placed in -this position. - -We have innumerable vases in our collections undoubtedly made in the -reign of the great Kang-he (1661-1722),[75] but his reign-mark is -comparatively rarely found. The absence of this _nien-hao_ is usually -explained by a proclamation, issued in 1677, which has been preserved in -the Chinese books, forbidding the inscription of the imperial name on -porcelain. With this proclamation the empty double ring of blue often -found on the base of vases of this time may perhaps be connected. Many -of the finest pieces, however, bear no mark of any kind. - -In place of these date-marks we may often find an inscription stating -that the piece was made at a certain _Tang_--for example, _Shun ti tang -chi_--literally ‘Cultivation virtue hall made’ (PL. B. 17). We have here -translated the character _tang_ by the somewhat vague word ‘hall,’ but -it is doubtful whether the inscription should be rendered ‘made for the -Shun-ti pavilion,’ _i.e._ for the imperial palace, or rather, ‘made at -the Shun-ti hall,‘--that is to say, at the studio or factory of that -name, presumably at King-te-chen. The best authorities, however, are in -favour of the latter rendering (Bushell, p. 78 _seq._, and the Franks -_Catalogue_, p. 213), and they regard these so-called hall-marks as more -or less equivalent to the signature of the manufacturer. The character -_tang_ is sometimes replaced by other words, as _tsuan_, a balcony; -_ting_, a summer-house; or _chai_, a studio. This last word is the -Japanese _sai_, which so often forms a part of the adopted names of -Japanese artists, as for example Hoku-sai, which means the ‘northern -studio.’ The Japanese potter often signs his work, and even in China we -find in a few cases a name, that of the painter, inscribed in the field -of the decoration,--we have already mentioned some instances of -signatures found in this position (p. 108). - -Of another kind is the inscription found on certain egg-shell cups of -the time of Wan-li (1572-1619). These cups, of which we have no -specimens unfortunately in our collections, were made by a famous -poet-potter who signs himself _Hu yin tao jen_, or ‘the Taoist hidden in -a pot.’ The reference is to a Taoist recluse (what the Japanese know as -a _Sennin_) who when disinclined for society was in the habit of -retiring into his gourd-bottle. At the same time, as Dr. Hirth has -pointed out, the words form an excellent motto for an artist--the true -expression of whose genius we seek in his works. - -There is a third class of marks which celebrate the beauty of the vessel -on which they are inscribed or, more rarely, refer to the subject of the -decoration. A large number of these are illustrated in Franks’s -_Catalogue of Oriental Porcelain_. We will merely quote as examples ‘A -gem among precious jewels of rare jade’ (PL. B. 16), and, with reference -to the decoration, which in this case includes some red fishes, -‘Enjoying themselves in the waters’ (PL. B. 44). Such rather tame -sentences do not teach us much. More suggestive is the inscription we -find on a cylindrical vase for holding writing materials: ‘Scholarship -lofty as the hills and the Great Bear’ (PL. B. 15)--a fit motto for the -desk of the student. - -The Emblems or Devices that so frequently occur in lieu of inscriptions -on Chinese porcelain are well illustrated in the British Museum -catalogue. They are, however, of little or no value in classifying or -dating the pieces on which they are found--they can seldom be connected -with any known manufacturer or artist. Such devices are generally -symbolic, above all of long life, riches, and honours, the three things -desired by a Chinaman, and I suppose that they are more or less vaguely -expected to bring to the owner the good luck that they suggest. - -Some of these devices remind us of the ‘canting’ charges and badges of -our heraldry. Thus a bat (PL. B. 19 A.) is in Chinese called _fu_, but -the same word also means happiness; so again a peach is _shu_, but _shu_ -means also long life. The characters for happiness (PL. B. 23) and long -life (PL. B. 19), we may mention, are of constant appearance, the first -usually as a mark on the base, the second as an integral part of the -decoration, on both Chinese and Japanese porcelain. Such interest, then, -as can be found in these marks is derived rather from the light they -throw upon the working of the Chinese mind than from any information -they give us about the porcelain on which they are inscribed. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE PORCELAIN OF CHINA--(_continued_). - - -KING-TE-CHEN AND THE PÈRE D’ENTRECOLLES - -There is nothing more remarkable in the history of the porcelain of -China, than the fact of the concentration in one spot, for so many -centuries, of an industry for the supply of almost the entire -population. So that as regards porcelain, as China stands to the rest of -the world, so the town of King-te-chen stands to the rest of China. In -fact, to parody a French saying,--‘_Qui dit porcelaine dit la Chine, qui -dit la Chine dit King-te-chen_.’ - -Let us then consider the position of this town, above all in relation to -the three principal outlets of its trade--I mean the supply of the court -at Pekin, the export at Canton, and the general demand of the country. -If the reader will consult a good map of China, one that shows the -rivers, for these are the real trunk-lines of the commerce of the -country, he will soon understand in what a commanding position -King-te-chen is placed. It is true that the distance from Pekin is not -far short of a thousand miles, following the winding course of the Grand -Canal, the Yang-tse river, and the waters of the Po-yang lake; but by -this route there is water communication without a break for the whole -way.[76] So again the whole journey to Canton may be made by boat, with -the exception of a short portage over the watershed on the borders of -the provinces of Kiang-si and Kuang-tung. This was the route taken by -Lord Amherst in 1816-17, when returning overland from Pekin to Canton. -The journey is well described by Sir John Davis in his _Sketches of -China_. As they approached the Po-yang lake, the porcelain shops and -depôts in the towns became more and more prominent. These were supplied -from the emporium at Jao-chau Fu, the great city near the spot where the -river descending from King-te-chen falls into the Po-yang lake. Davis -describes the beautiful scenery and the classical associations of the -mountainous country surrounding the lake. Proceeding southward they -ascended the Kia-kiang river, passing by Nan-chang Fu, a great centre -for the commerce of southern China. The river is very shallow in its -upper course, but along it passes a constant stream of traffic, by means -of a narrow passage scooped out in the shingly bed. The Meiling Pass is -crossed by a paved road, partly excavated in the rock and in places cut -into steps--a road made some twelve centuries ago by an emperor of the -Tang dynasty. After a journey of some thirty miles on horseback another -stream was reached, down which they floated to the great Western River -and the waters of Canton. It is by this route that nine-tenths of the -Chinese porcelain that has reached Europe must have passed. How this -porcelain is packed at King-te-chen and forwarded to Canton and to other -parts of China is well shown in a series of native drawings exhibited by -the side of the cases containing the porcelain in the British Museum. - -King-te-chen stands on a small river that flows south-west to fall into -the Po-yang lake. At this point, close by the lake, lies, as already -mentioned, the city of Jao-chau, the capital of the whole district and -the residence of the prefect. King-te-chen, however, the town of the -potter, is not directly subordinate to Jao-chau; to the official mind it -is a mere dependency of the sub-prefecture of Fouliang, a small walled -town or _hsien_ in the immediate neighbourhood. It is in the annals of -this _hsien_ that the early history of King-te-chen is to be found. We -may compare the relative positions of these three Chinese towns with -those existing in the eighteenth century between the long straggling -villages of Burslem or Stoke and the adjacent town of Newcastle in the -first place, and then between the latter and the county town of -Stafford. The importance of King-te-chen may, however, be inferred from -the fact that the superintendent of the imperial potteries was often at -the same time controller of the local customs and viceroy of the -surrounding provinces. - -King-te-chen, then, was built where the little river flowed out from the -barren mountain tract to the east--a region made still more barren by -the cutting down of all the wood to provide fuel for the kilns, and -whose inhabitants were reputed to be as rude and rugged as their -surroundings. It is from the gorges of this rough hilly country that the -precious kaolin and petuntse are excavated. These substances are formed -locally by the decomposition of the rock of which the hills are -composed, a variety of graphic granite with much soda-holding felspar. - -In a narrow space, crowded for more than four miles along the river bank -between shops, temples, and guardhouses, were built the kilns and the -workshops. Towards the south rises a small hill where the tiled roofs of -the temples and pavilions are seen half hidden among the trees. This is -the Jewel or Guardian Hill which commands the adjacent imperial -manufactory. This factory was first established here in the fourteenth -century, but since then it has been more than once burned to the ground -in times of riot and rebellion. The works were last rebuilt in 1866. - -Dr. Bushell has translated an official description of the series of -workshops, from the mixing-house to the muffle-furnaces of the -enamellers, the whole enclosed by a wall about a mile in circuit. The -kilns are no longer within the enclosure as they were in Ming times. The -imperial porcelain is now fired in private furnaces scattered through -the town. - -The French Jesuit missionary to whom, above any one else, is due the -credit of first describing to the people of the West the nature of -porcelain and how it was made, was living, at the time when the earliest -of his famous letters was written (in 1712), at Jao-chau, the capital of -the district. The letter is addressed to the _procureur_ of the order in -Paris, and it would seem that it was before long made public.[77] It was -followed in 1722 by a second supplementary letter, dated this time from -King-te-chen itself. The Père D’Entrecolles had already been many years -in China, and had before this sent home important letters on other -branches of Chinese industry. The first letter on porcelain gives proof -of long acquaintance with the subject, and it is not impossible that he -may already have corresponded with some one in Europe on the same -subject. I make this suggestion in connection with the curious -coincidence of date between the residence of D’Entrecolles in this -district and the first manufacture of porcelain in Saxony. - -These letters were naturally read with avidity at this time in Paris and -elsewhere. The seed fell on fertile ground, and but one thing was -wanting, and that was--some actual specimens of the materials described -by the Jesuit father. The indications on this head, given in the -letters, were indeed quite insufficient, and would rather tend to put -inquirers on a false scent. The writer, for example, had no notion of -the real nature of kaolin, a substance which in one place he compares -to chalk. On the other hand, the technical details so fully given were -at that time new. Since then this information has filtered down through -many books, so that much of it now appears quite trite. - -I will confine myself to a few extracts bearing on points of interest -that I may have overlooked elsewhere. These letters are written in the -clear, flowing language of the time, and they are delightful reading. -After giving some account from the _Annals of Fouliang_ of the early -history of porcelain, and describing how the industry was gradually -concentrated at King-te-chen, the Père D’Entrecolles goes on to say: -‘Apart from the pottery that is made all over China, there are a few -other provinces, as those of Fukien and Canton, where porcelain is -made.’ By Canton, in this case, we must understand, I suppose, the -province of Kuang-tung, and this is a piece of information of some -interest. The attempts made to establish workmen from King-te-chen at -Pekin, and again in the neighbourhood of Amoy, from which port so large -a commerce was already carried on with Europe, had, he says, wholly -failed. - -There then follows a description of King-te-chen, with its long streets -and its population of more than a million, ‘as is commonly reported.’ He -tells us of a rich Chinese merchant who, after making his fortune in the -Indies, had built a magnificent temple to the Queen of Heaven (Kwan-yin, -probably). The European piastres he had brought back were well known in -the district, although this was not the case in other parts of China. We -have a picture of the busy quay and of the three ranges of junks closely -packed along the side, and for a background the whirlwinds of flame -rising from the three thousand kilns of the city.[78] After praising -the admirable police arrangements, he comes to his main subject, the -manufacture of porcelain. - -The small vessels that bring down the kaolin and the petuntse (in the -latter he notes the scattered shiny particles--the mica) from a distance -of twenty or thirty leagues are even more numerous than the big junks -that take the finished ware down to Jao-chau. The details of manufacture -that follow--and to quote them would be only to go once more over the -ground covered in a previous chapter--were learned by the Père -D’Entrecolles not only from the Christian workmen, but by frequent -visits to the works themselves. ‘These great laboratories,’ he tells us, -‘have been for me a kind of Areopagus where I have preached’ (I quote -the rest in French) ‘_celui qui a formé le premier homme de limon et des -mains duquel nous sortons pour devenir des vases de gloire ou -d’ignominie_.’ - -In describing the preparation of the paste much stress is laid upon the -care taken to exclude all extraneous matter, especially that which may -have been introduced into the kaolin or petuntse by way of adulteration. -The slip for the glaze--for the latter the Chinese term ‘oil’ is -retained--is said to be brought down from the mountains, where it is -prepared, in a liquid form. The division of labour in the manufacture is -carried so far that a piece of porcelain before completion may pass -through the hands of as many as seventy workmen, to each of whom a -separate task is assigned. - -The important part played by moulding, both as a direct process and -subsidiary to throwing on the wheel, is well brought out in this -description. I will give a rendering of the passage in which the process -of moulding is described, as in an English translation in a recent work -there is some apparent confusion. ‘When the piece to be copied is of -such a nature that it cannot be imitated with the potter’s hands on the -wheel, a special kind of clay used only for moulds is impressed upon it -[_i.e._ upon the model]. In this way a mould is made of several pieces, -each of a considerable size. These pieces are now dried, and when they -are required for use they are held near the fire for some time, after -which they are filled with the paste to the thickness desirable in the -porcelain. The paste is pressed in with the hands and the mould is again -placed near the fire. The impressed figure becomes at once detached from -the mould by the heat that consumes the moisture that has made it -adhere. The different parts of a piece separately moulded are now joined -together with a somewhat liquid slip, made of the same material as the -porcelain.’ Great numbers of these moulds are kept in stock, so that an -order from Europe can be quickly executed. - -The porcelain painters, he tells us, are just as ‘poor beggars’ -(_gueux_) as the other workmen; and he has evidently a very mean opinion -of the art of painting as practised at that time in China: ‘_Ils -ignorent les belles règles de cet Art_.’ But such an estimate of -Oriental art was universal at that time, when everything was measured -from the standpoint of Versailles and the _roi soleil_. ‘The work of the -painter is divided in the same laboratory among a great number of -workmen. It is the sole business of one to trace the coloured circle -that we see near the edge of the vessel; another draws the outline of -the flowers, which a third fills in. One painter does the mountains and -the water, another the birds and the animals. It is the human figure -that is the most badly handled.... As for the colours on the porcelain, -we find all sorts. Little is seen in Europe except that with bright blue -on a white ground. I think, however, that our merchants have brought -over other kinds.’ (The implication is, no doubt, ‘since I have left -France.’ This helps us to fix the date of the introduction of coloured -porcelain into Europe.) ‘Some we find with a ground like that of our -burning mirrors.’ (This is doubtless the _Wu-chin_, or metallic black of -the Chinese. This ‘mirror-black’ is compared to a concave glass -blackened behind.) ‘Other kinds are wholly red, and among them some are -_d’un rouge à l’huile_ (_yu-li-hung_), and some of a _rouge soufflé_ -(_chui-hung_), and covered with little points almost like a miniature. -When these two varieties are executed with perfect success--and to do -this is difficult enough--they are highly esteemed and are very dear.’ -The _yu-li-hung_, literally ‘red inside the glaze,’ may be taken to -include the various shades of red derived from copper, of the _grand -feu_. The _rouge soufflé_ is explained below. The word ‘miniature’ is -used, I think, in the old sense of an illuminated manuscript. ‘Finally -there are kinds of porcelain with the landscapes on them painted with a -mixture of nearly every colour, heightened by a brilliant gilding. These -are very beautiful, if no expense is spared. Otherwise the ordinary -porcelain of this kind is not to be compared with that which is painted -with azure alone. The _Annals of King-te-chen_ say that formerly the -people used nothing but a white ware.’ - -The source of the cobalt blue is now discussed and its mode of -preparation. The raw material is thrown into the bed of the furnace and -there roasted for twenty-four hours. It is then reduced to an impalpable -powder in a mortar of biscuit porcelain. The red is made by roasting -copperas to a high temperature in a crucible. The white that is used as -an enamel in decorating porcelain is prepared from ‘_un caillou -transparent_,’ which is also roasted on the floor of the furnace.[79] -This _caillou_ is mixed with two parts of white lead, and this mixture -forms a flux--the basis for the colours. There then follows some account -of the other colours used, but here it is difficult to follow the good -father. He makes some strange statements, which are not all of them -cleared up in his supplementary letter of 1722. There are indeed so many -amplifications and corrections in the latter that it will be well to -combine in our summary the gleanings from the two sources. This second -letter is dated from King-te-chen after an interval of ten years, and -shows a greater acquaintance with practical details. - -Passing over the account of the _flambé_ and of some other glazes--to -avoid repetition we will defer our remarks till we come to speak of -these wares in the next chapter--we hear in the second letter of a -valuable material lately discovered which may take the place of kaolin -in the composition of the paste. This is described as a chalky-looking -body which is largely used by Chinese doctors as a medicine and is -called _Hua-shi_. - -We will here interrupt the Père D’Entrecolles’s account to mention that -the _hua-shi_ is strictly speaking soapstone or steatite, a silicate of -magnesia. But whether magnesia ever enters into the paste or glaze of -Chinese porcelain is as yet a disputed question.[80] As far as I know, -it has never been found by analysis. The Chinese nomenclature of rocks -is necessarily based on their physical aspect alone. Some specimens sent -from King-te-chen, which were described on the labels as _hua-shi_, were -found at Sèvres to consist of an impure kaolin containing a large -quantity of mica. - -To return to the father’s letters:--In China this _hua-shi_ is five -times as dear as kaolin. Four parts of it are mixed with one part of -petuntse to make the paste. The porcelain made with this material is -rare, and much more expensive than any other. Compared to ordinary -porcelain, it is as vellum compared with paper; it is, besides, of a -lightness that is quite surprising. It is, however, very fragile, and -there are great difficulties connected with the firing. For this reason -it is sometimes only applied as a coating to the surface of ordinary -paste. The _hua-shi_ is also used to form an ivory-white slip, with -which designs are delicately painted on the surface of the vessel. (We -may probably identify this _hua-shi_ ware with the _sha t’ai_ or ‘soft -paste,’ so called, of Western collectors.) - -What we are told by the Jesuit father about the revival of the -manufacture of celadon is of great interest. ‘I was shown this year,’ he -says, ‘for the first time, a new kind of porcelain which is now in -fashion. It is of a colour approaching olive, and is called -_Lung-chuan_.’ The colour of the glaze is given by the same yellow earth -that is used for the _or bruni_ glaze, and it is often highly crackled. -With this statement we may compare the account which he gives in another -part of his second letter of the revival of the manufacture of archaic -wares. ‘The Mandarin of King-te-chen, who honoured me with his -friendship, made presents to his protectors at the court of pieces of -old porcelain [_sic_] which he has the talent to make himself. I mean -that he has found the art of imitating the ancient ware, or at least -that of a considerable age, and he employs a number of workmen with this -object. The material of these false antiques (Chinese _Ku-tung_) is a -yellowish earth brought from the Ma-an mountains. They are very thick--a -plate which the Mandarin gave me was ten times the usual weight. The -peculiarity of this ware is the glaze made from a yellowish rock, which -becomes sea-green on firing.’ This change of colour, of course, was the -result of a reducing flame, but note the keen observation of the - -[Illustration: _PLATE XIV._ JAPANESE, IMARI WARE, BLUE AND WHITE WITH -GOLD] - -narrator. ‘When completed the pieces are boiled in a very greasy soup, -and then left for a month or more in the most foul drain that can be -found. After this process they may claim to be three or four hundred -years old, and to date from the dynasty preceding the Ming. They -resemble the real antiques in not giving a ringing note when struck.... -They have brought me from the _débris_ of a large shop a little plate -which I value more than the finest porcelain made a thousand years ago. -On it is painted a crucifix between the Holy Virgin and St. John. Such -pieces were made formerly for Japan, but they have not been in demand -for the last sixteen or seventeen years.’ These plates, he thinks, were -smuggled into that country mixed with other goods, for the use of the -native Christians. (_Cf._ the Japanese dish, PL. XIV.) - -The account given by the Père D’Entrecolles of the firing of porcelain -is so detailed and accurate that it forms an interesting commentary on -what we have said in a former chapter on this subject.[81] We have first -a description of the man who carries the unbaked ware to the furnace, -ranged on two long narrow planks. Balancing these on his shoulders, he -threads his way through the narrow streets, for the furnaces, as we have -seen, may often be a long way from the factory. He goes on to say, ‘the -place where the furnaces are presents another scene. In a kind of -vestibule in front of the kilns are seen heaps of clay boxes destined to -contain the porcelain.’ These, of course, are the ‘seggars’ already -described. Each piece of porcelain of any size has its own case. The -smaller pieces are packed many together in one seggar. On the bottom of -each of these cases is a layer of sand covered with a little powdered -kaolin. Each seggar forms the cover to the one below it, and so the -whole furnace is filled with these great piles of cases each packed -with porcelain. ‘By favour of this thick veil the beauty, and if I may -so express myself, the complexion of the porcelain is not tanned by the -ardour of the fire.’ The workman, without touching the fragile raw -pieces, rapidly transfers them to the furnace by means of a flexible -wooden fork. There are six inches of coarse gravel in the bottom of the -furnace, and on this rest the piles of seggars. The middle range is at -least seven feet high, the two lowest seggars in each pile being left -empty, as is also the one on the top. The middle of the furnace is -reserved for the finest porcelain, while near the front are the pieces -made with a more fusible paste. The piles of seggars are strengthened by -being battened together with clay, but it is the first duty of the -fireman to see that there is a free passage of air. The seggars are made -in a large village a league from King-te-chen, with a mixture of three -kinds of clay. - -The furnaces, he tells us, which are now of larger dimensions than -formerly, are built over a capacious arched vault, and the hearth or -fireplace extends across the whole width of the front of the furnace. It -would seem that the process of firing is carried on more rapidly than in -former days, and to economise fuel and time the smaller pieces at any -rate are taken out a few hours after the extinction of the fire. -Sometimes on opening the furnace the whole contents, both seggars and -porcelain, are found to be reduced to a half-melted mass as hard as a -rock. A change in the weather may alter in a moment the action of the -fire, so that a hundred workmen are ruined to one who succeeds and is -able to set up a crockery shop. - -The ware made in European style finds no favour with the Chinese, and if -not accepted by the export merchants remains on the maker’s hands. - -We are told of the marvellous _tours de force_ executed in porcelain, -some years ago, for the heir-apparent, especially of certain open-work -lanterns[82] and strange musical instruments. We see from this at how -early a date the future emperor (Yung-cheng) showed an interest in -porcelain. The Chinese, it is said, succeed above all in grotesques and -in figures of animals; the workmen make ducks and tortoises that float -on the water. They make, too, many statues of Kwan-yin,--she is -represented holding a child in her arms, and in this form is invoked by -sterile women who wish for children. - -The mandarins, he continues, who appreciate the talents of Europeans for -ingenious novelties, have sometimes asked me to procure for them from -Europe new and curious designs, so that they may have something singular -to present to the emperor.[83] On the other hand, the Christian workmen -strongly urged me to do no such thing. For the mandarins do not yield so -easily as our merchants when told that a proposed work is impracticable. -Many are the _bastinados_ given to the men before the official will -abandon the design from which he hoped so much profit. - -‘What becomes of the vast accumulation of potsherds, both from the -seggars and from the firings?’ the writer finally asks. Mixed with lime, -they are largely used to form a cement with which the walls of gardens -and roads are constructed. They also help to build up the new ground -which is reclaimed from the banks of the river. Carried down thence by -the floods, they form a glittering pavement for many miles below the -town. - -In the detailed account of King-te-chen given by the Jesuit father, we -find no mention of the imperial manufactory. Are we to understand that -he found no admittance to these workshops? His acquaintance with the -higher mandarins makes this unlikely. Nor can we think that these works -were closed during the long period of his stay in this district. Another -omission that has been pointed out is, I think, more easy of -explanation. The Père D’Entrecolles, while giving in great detail the -method of preparation of the various colours used in the enamels and -glazes, does not say a word about the famous crimson derived from gold, -so largely used in the _famille rose_ decoration. I cannot but think -that this omission is an almost conclusive proof that the _rouge d’or_ -was not known at that time.[84] The ignorance of the Chinese of chemical -processes is dwelt upon, and it is especially mentioned that they are -acquainted with neither _aqua fortis_ nor _aqua regia_. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE PORCELAIN OF CHINA--(_continued_). - - -Forms and Uses--Description of the various Wares. - -We have now given a summary sketch of the history and development of the -porcelain of China, and have seen something of the processes of -manufacture and decoration. Incidentally some account has been given of -the principal wares. - -We now propose to take up the subject from the side of the paste, the -glaze, and the decoration, putting aside the question of age and of -historical sequence, and to run through the various classes into which -we can divide our material under these heads. We shall follow as far as -possible the arrangement adopted in the British Museum, passing from the -simpler forms of decoration to the more complex. - -First, however, let us say a few words on the forms given to porcelain -by the Chinese, and the uses these objects are put to in the country of -their origin.[85] - -In a first glance at any large collection of Chinese porcelain the bulk -of the objects shown appear to fall into four classes: plates and -dishes, bowls, vases for flowers, and covered jars.[86] But a closer -examination discloses an endless variety of other uses to which -porcelain has been applied by the Chinese. - -The figures of the gods and the vessels associated with their worship -found in the temples and household shrines form by themselves a large -division. Here the use of porcelain has from a very early period been -encouraged at the expense of bronze and other metals. The ritual vessels -used in the imperial worship at Pekin have for ages been made of -porcelain. Many of them, as the jars for sacrificial wine, in the form -of elephants and rhinoceroses, are copied from the most archaic bronze -types; of the same origin is the small libation cup of peculiar shape -sometimes seen in our collections. The _Wu-kung_, or five vessels that -stand in front of a Buddhist shrine, the incense-burner in the centre, -with a candlestick and a vase on either side, are often in China made of -porcelain. In Japan these objects are always of metal. A similar set is -found in the Taoist temples. The colour of the vessels in ritual use at -Pekin varies with the temple in which they are found. Those of the -ancestral temple of the emperors are of imperial yellow; those of the -altar of heaven of a deep blue (a set of five of this colour, recently -brought from Pekin, may be seen at South Kensington). A red glazed ware -is connected with the altar of the sun, and white with that of the -planet Jupiter. - -The objects used in the burning of perfume, the basis doubtless of the -highly elaborated apparatus of the Japanese, are usually made of -porcelain: these are the incense-burner, the boxes for the perfumes, and -the little vase to hold the fire-sticks and the tongs. From these we may -pass to the various objects found on the table of the cultured classes, -most of them connected with literary pursuits. This is an important -division in Chinese collections, as we may judge from the often-quoted -manuscript catalogue of Dr. Bushell. The slabs, the water-drippers, and -a dozen other small objects are modelled in a variety of forms. The -pen-rest is generally in the shape of a small range of mountains, the -highest in the centre (this, by the way, is the ancient form of the -Chinese character for ‘mountain,’ _cf._ PL. VIII.). One of the strangest -uses to which porcelain is put by the Chinese is the hat-stand in the -form of a hollow sphere supported on a tall, tubular column--the sphere -may be filled with either fine charcoal embers or with ice, according to -the season. - -Pillows, too, are made of porcelain--there is one of the _famille verte_ -in the Salting collection--but the native collector is warned against -those of a certain size and shape, as they may have been stolen from -tombs. Tall vases to contain arrows, either cylindrical or square in -section, are especially connected with the Manchus. These large vessels -may generally be known by their porcelain stands often surrounded by -railings. - -The vases and bowls are of all sizes and shapes. The biggest ovoid vases -with dome-shaped covers may stand in the hall on carved stands; indeed, -they are found in similar positions in many of the palaces of India, -Persia, and Europe. - -The flower vases form an important group, and as in Japan, there is -quite a library of illustrated work devoted to them. Both the shape and -the decoration of the vase are dependent upon the flowers it is destined -to hold, and the arrangement and combination of these flowers is -regulated by rival schools of specialists. - -The combination of five pieces to form a _garniture de cheminée_ is not -altogether a European idea. The Chinese have a similar combination--the -_Wu-shê_, or set of five; but with them an uncovered vase is preferred -for the central piece. For the service of the dinner-table there are -many forms: among the cups, plates, and dishes of all shapes and sizes -we may select for mention the dishes with covers indicating by their -shapes the contents--fish, birds, or fruit. With these we may compare -the similar forms made at one time at Chelsea and elsewhere. There are, -again, the compound dishes in the form of flowers, each petal forming a -compartment. Finally, we must not forget the tall, cylindrical mugs with -crown-like tops, used for cooling drinks in summer, or among the Mongols -for their koumis. - -There are also certain forms made chiefly, but not exclusively, for the -Mohammedan west. Of these, we may mention the bases for the hookah, -recognisable by the small, straight spouts at the side to which the -flexible smoking-tube is attached; the scent-sprinklers with tall, -narrow necks; and the hand-spittoons with globular body and -wide-spreading orifice,--these last, by the way, are used in China also. - -It is not known to what date we can refer the oldest of the little -medicine-flasks (Chinese _yao-ping_) which have in later times been used -as snuff-bottles. They seem to have been carried westward in large -numbers by the Arab traders, and that from an early date. In shape and -size they have varied little.[87] Those found so abundantly in Egypt are -generally very small, and are often shaped in imitation of a flattened -vase with a square foot: some of them are of a rough-looking celadon, -others are covered with a green enamel with white reserves. These are -the little bottles that found themselves suddenly so famous towards the -beginning of the last century, when they were extracted by the Arabs -from Egyptian tombs of early dynasties. Somewhat later they encountered -some rivals in the small seals of white Chinese porcelain which were -discovered in the Irish bogs! - -We can only mention in passing a few of the innumerable subsidiary uses -which porcelain is made to serve in China, taking the place of so many -other materials, above all of metal:--fittings for furniture, especially -for the bedstead, frames for the abacus, or calculating-table, knobs for -walking-sticks and hanging scrolls, boxes of various shapes and sizes -for cosmetics, buttons, bracelets, and hair-ornaments. Finally, the very -fragments, what we should call pot-sherds, of the oldest wares, -especially when fine in colour, may be found mounted in gold or silver -and worn as personal ornaments. - - * * * * * - -We started our sketch of Chinese porcelain with a rough historical -division into three classes. We are now concerned only with questions of -glazes and decoration, and we shall find that the apparently innumerable -varieties of Chinese porcelain fall, with few exceptions, under one or -other of the following heads:-- - -1. White, or nearly white, ware, which may be glazed or unglazed. - -2. Single-glaze wares, either true monochromes or, if of more than one -colour, the variety of colour arising from changes brought about in the -single glaze during the firing. - -3. Porcelain decorated under the glaze. Chiefly blue, less often blue -combined with red, or red alone. - -4. The decoration given by painting with glazes of more than one colour, -probably always on the biscuit. We may call this the class of polychrome -glazes. - -5. The decoration painted over the glaze with enamels more fusible than -the glaze on which they rest. - -PLAIN WHITE WARE.--The white ware made at Ting-chou, a town in the -province of Chihli, to the south-west of Pekin, as early as Sung times, -served as a type for all the many kinds of similar ware made in later -days at King-te-chen. We have seen (p. 68) that there was a variety, of -the earlier ware, of creamy tint covered with a soft glaze containing -lead; this is the _Tu-ting_, of which there are several specimens in the -British Museum. It was, however, the pure white variety, the -_Feng-ting_, that was afterwards copied. The colour of this ware, when -not a pure white, tends to blue and greenish tints, and it is often -finely crackled. This ware, especially the thin, translucent, egg-shell -variety of the time of Yung-lo (1402-25), is much sought after by -Chinese collectors. - -But the greater part of the plain white Chinese porcelain in European -collections was not made either at Ting-chou or at King-te-chen. It is -rather to be traced to the only other important centre for the -manufacture of porcelain that survives in China. This is the district of -Te-hua (Tek-kwa in the local dialect), in the province of Fukien. This -province had been famed in Sung times for its tea-bowls covered with a -dark glaze, and we must remember that somewhere along its rocky, -indented coast was situated the port of Zaitun, so famous in early days -for its Arab trade. In later times the roadstead of Amoy came to rival -Canton as a port of call for our ships; it is mentioned in this -connection by the Père D’Entrecolles, and from it most of the _blanc de -Chine_ which at that time reached Europe was probably exported. For it -was this Fukien ware rather than the white Ting porcelain that was -imported into Europe from the latter half of the seventeenth century, to -be copied in the earlier days of Saint-Cloud and Bow. In Spain it was a -great favourite from perhaps an earlier date, and when the Buen Retiro -works were started this ware was taken as a model. - -This white ware does not seem to have been made at Te-hua before the -Ming period, but it soon established itself as the _pai-tsu_--the white -ware _par excellence_ of China. It is distinguished by the creamy white -of its paste and glaze--that is to say, the colour tends - -[Illustration: _PLATE XV._ 1--CHINESE, PLAIN WHITE WARE -2--CHINESE, BLUE AND WHITE WARE] - -towards a warm, yellowish tint rather than towards the cold, pure white -or bluish tone of most of the King-te-chen and still more of the -Japanese wares. The satiny glaze appears to melt into the subjacent -ground in a way that reminds us of some of the European soft paste -porcelains. - -It is the moulded ware that is most characteristic of the ‘Kien -yao‘--vases with dragons in full relief creeping round the neck, -incense-burners in many complicated forms, figures of Kwan-yin (whom we -should _not_ call the ‘Goddess of Mercy‘) in many incarnations; or -again, Ta-mo (so well known in Japan as Daruma), the _Bodhi-dharma_ who -brought the faith to China, with overhanging brows and abstracted, -solemn gaze. Among animals, the favourite is the lion, the so-called -‘dog of Fo,’ sporting with an open-work ball. - -Many of these figures are very ably executed; they stand firm and erect; -and the draperies, though here the mannerisms of the ‘calligraphic’ -school of painting may be recognised, fall in simple folds from the -shoulders. The prevalence of Buddhist types (for the Taoist divinities -are here less frequently represented) may be connected with the -exceptional predominance of that religion in Fukien, a province somewhat -remote from the rest of China, whose inhabitants speak a dialect very -different from the standard Chinese. - -Some very creditable work seems to be still turned out from the Te-kua -district, to judge by the ware that finds its way to the shops of -Fuchow. Some enamelled ware appears to have been at one time made in -this district. In the British Museum are some small pieces decorated -with five colours (among them a blue enamel _over_ the glaze), which on -the ground of the nature of the glaze and the paste have been classed as -Fukien ware; while from the style of the decoration they would appear to -date from the early eighteenth century. - -Much white porcelain, both the Feng-ting and the Fukien, was imported -into Europe from the end of the seventeenth century, and it forms an -important element in old collections. Some of this white ware, at a -later time, was decorated with colours in England and elsewhere, giving -rise to a class of porcelain that has caused some confusion to -collectors. - -In China, white porcelain is used in time of mourning, at least that is -the case with that supplied to the imperial court. - -Unglazed porcelain is comparatively rare in China, but figures of gods -or of animals are sometimes found in biscuit, and the little boxes in -which crickets are kept for fighting are generally of unglazed ware. -Again, where, as in the class of polychrome glazes, the glaze is applied -with a brush, some part may be left unglazed; and this practice has -survived in the case of the lions and kilins of the _famille verte_, -where we often find the biscuit exposed in parts of the face. - -CELADON WARE.--As the white ware of King-te-chen--the _Ting_--has got -its name from the town of Ting-chou where it was first made, so the many -varieties of celadon[88] porcelain are connected in the Chinese mind -with the town of Lung-chuan, near the southern boundary of the province -of Chekiang. We have already given some space to this ware, so important -from the _cultur-historisch_ point of view, and we shall have to return -to it again when we come to investigate the routes by which the -porcelain of China passed in the Middle Ages to other countries. Here we -will merely call attention to the later revival of the celadon glazes -mentioned in a passage we have quoted from the letters of the Jesuit -father. But the highly finished porcelain, with a fine white paste -covered with a pale greyish-green glaze of uniform thickness and shade, -differs much from the old vases with ‘red mouth and foot.’ There is a -remarkably fine specimen in the Wallace collection at Hertford House -with chased metal mountings of the time of Louis XV., and other pieces -similarly mounted in the Jones collection. - -CRACKLE WARE.--It would only create confusion to make a special class -for the many kinds of ware covered with a crackled glaze. It will be -remembered that we first came across glazes of this kind when describing -the Ko yao, the ‘ware of the Elder Brother,’ and a large class of -porcelain with white to yellowish grey glaze, always more or less -crackled, is still commonly known as Ko yao in China, so that ‘Crackle -ware’ and ‘Ko yao’ are in a measure equivalent terms. Such crackling may -vary from a division of the surface into large fissures several inches -in length, to the finest reticulation of minute lines hardly visible -without a glass. The first the Chinese compare to the cracks of ice, and -I think that it is to a variety of crackle with long spindle-shaped -divisions that they give the name of ‘crabs claw.’ The finer crackle -they know as ‘fish-roe‘--this is the _truité_ of the French. Certain -glazes, as the turquoise and the purple of the _demi grand feu_, are -always finely crackled. In other cases the crackling, which is caused, -as we have already said (p. 32), by the glaze after solidification -contracting more than the subjacent paste, may be produced or modified -at the will of the potter by adding various substances to the glaze. A -rock that has been identified with steatite has been often mentioned in -this connection, and the increase in the shrinkage of the glaze -attributed to the magnesia contained in it. Probably, however, a change -in the proportion of the silica to the alumina may be enough to bring -about a crackled glaze. The following extract from the letters of the -Père D’Entrecolles throws some light on this point. He tells us that -when the glaze is made of _cailloux blancs_ (probably little else than -felspar), without other mixture, we obtain the porcelain called -_Sui-ki_, or ‘shattered ware’ (this is the general Chinese term for -crackle), ‘marbled all over with an infinity of veins so as to look like -a piece of broken porcelain with the pieces remaining in their places.’ -The glaze, we are told, is of a cindery white. We have here a -description of the Ko yao, which, however, seems to have been little -known in Europe at that time. To this class belong the vases with -yellowish grey ground and crackles of medium size. They are often -provided with mask handles and detached rings. These handles and rings, -as well as some broad bands round the neck, are covered, in imitation of -bronze, with a dark, roughened glaze. Another variety of this Ko yao is -decorated with scattered patches of white slip, laid on apparently over -the crackled glazed surface. On this slip is painted the design in -cobalt blue under what is apparently a second glaze. A frequent _motif_ -on this ware is found in a series of horses in the strangest of -positions. These probably represent the eight famous steeds of the old -emperor Mu-wang. Both these classes of Ko yao are in great favour in -China and Japan as flower vases. The shapes and decorations are more or -less reminiscent of the old bronzes. It would seem that ware of this -kind is still manufactured at King-te-chen and perhaps somewhere in the -north of China also. - -The brown glazes form a very distinct class. The well-known colour has -many names: in French _fond laque_; in Chinese _tzu-kin_, or ‘burnished -gold.’ It is also known as ‘dead leaf,’ but the average tint is perhaps -best described as _café au lait_. The Père D’Entrecolles, in mentioning -the _tzu-kin_, the colour of which he says is given by a ‘common yellow -earth,’ states that it was a recent invention in his time. He is perhaps -referring to some special tint, for the colour was well known in Ming -days. We have already spoken of the possible relation of this colour to -the - -[Illustration: _PLATE XVI._ CHINESE, WHITE SLIP ON BROWN GROUND] - -copper lustre of the fourteenth century Persian fayence. At a later time -in the seventeenth century it was a favourite colour with the Persians, -especially when decorated with delicate designs of flowers and ferns in -a thin white slip (PL. XVI.). It was largely exported at that time from -China and cleverly imitated in the fayence and frit-pastes of Persia. -Both the original Chinese ware and the Persian imitation are well -represented at South Kensington by specimens brought from the latter -country. This brown glaze is seldom found alone. It is a colour that -stands well the full heat of the furnace, and it may be combined with a -blue and white decoration or with bands of celadon. It forms the -ground-colour of the so-called Batavian ware, and at one time a brown -ring was by our ancestors held to be essential on the rim of a fine -plate or bowl of blue and white porcelain. - -TURQUOISE AND PURPLE GLAZES.--As for the twin colours of the _demi grand -feu_ (the yellow in this group is quite subordinate), the so-called -turquoise (including the peacock green and kingfisher blue of the -Chinese) and the aubergine purple, the latter is seldom found alone. -Both colours are distinguished by a very fine-grained crackle. Of the -blue, when used as a single-glaze colour, we have spoken when describing -the glazes of the _demi grand feu_. - -YELLOW MONOCHROME GLAZES.--There are many shades of yellow found on -Chinese porcelain: the imperial yellow of full yolk-of-egg tint, the -lemon yellow, the greenish ‘eel-skin,’ and the ‘boiled chestnut.’ Only -the first, the imperial yellow, is of importance as a monochrome glaze. -This is the colour first used in the time of the Ming emperor Hung-chi -(1487-1505), and his name is sometimes found on bowls and plates ranging -in colour from a bright mustard to a boiled chestnut tint. There are -some good specimens in the British Museum, and a curious piece, with a -Persian inscription, at South Kensington, has already been mentioned -when speaking of the reign of Hung-chi. - -COBALT BLUE MONOCHROME GLAZES.--We may distinguish three varieties of -blue derived from cobalt, but the full sapphire of the blue and white -ware is not found as a monochrome glaze:-- - -1. The _Clair de lune_. The term _yueh-pai_, or moon-white, was applied -to more than one class of Sung porcelain, but above all to the Ju yao. -In later times, when these primitive wares were copied, the colour was -given by a minute quantity of cobalt, but it is very doubtful whether -that pigment was known in early Sung days. The _clair de lune_ glazes of -Nien were considered second in merit only to the copper reds of that -great viceroy. The uncrackled glazes of this class are often classed as -celadon. - -2. The Mazarin blue, known also as _bleu fouetté_ or powder-blue.[89] -This glaze is blown on to the surface of the raw paste, in the manner -described on page 30. It sometimes covers the whole surface, and is then -generally decorated with floral designs in gold, but more often it forms -the ground for vases and plates with large white reserves on which -designs in enamel colours are painted. - -3. The _Gros Bleu_, in the form of large plates and vases, was a great -favourite with the Arabs and other Mohammedan races. This ware, too, was -often covered with a decoration of gold. There is a magnificent plate of -this class in the British Museum, and at South Kensington, in the India -Museum, a tall, dark-blue vase which we have already mentioned. From -Persia come many specimens of this deep blue ware, of a greyish or even -slaty tint, decorated, like the _fond laque_, with flowers in a white -slip. - -BLACK GLAZES.--Very near to this last class of blue glazes we may place -the ‘metallic black,’ the _wu-chin_ of the Chinese. According to the -Père D’Entrecolles, this mirror-black is prepared by mixing with a glaze -containing much lime and some of the same ochry earth that gives the -colour to the brown glazes, a sufficient quantity of cobalt of poor -quality. In this case no second glaze is required, and the vessel is -fired in the _demi grand feu_, _i.e._ in the front of the furnace. Other -blacks are painted on and covered with a second glaze. The large -spherical vases with tall tubular necks show little trace generally of -the gold with which the black glaze was originally decorated. - -GREEN GLAZES.--The peculiar tint of green, in varied intensity, that -distinguishes the _famille verte_ is seldom found as a single glaze; and -of the green Lang yao, made by Lang Ting-tso in the early part of the -reign of Kang-he, it is doubtful whether we have any representatives in -our European collections. This glaze is said to be somewhat in the style -of his more famous _sang de bœuf_. - -The brilliant cucumber or apple-green of Ming times is shown in a pair -of exquisite little bowls in the British Museum. Over the green glaze -there is a scroll pattern of gold, and on the inside a blue decoration -under the glaze. Almost identical with these is the bowl set in a -silver-gilt mounting of English make dating from about the year 1540, -now preserved in the Gold Room (PL. V.). Of a similar but somewhat -deeper tint of green are the rare crackle vases, generally of small -size, of which there are specimens in the British Museum and in the -Salting collection.[90] - -OLIVE AND BRONZE GLAZES.--The monochrome glazes of various shades of -olive and bronze are for the most part produced by a _soufflé_ process, -in which on a base of one colour a second colour is sprinkled. Thus to -form the ‘tea-dust’ a green glaze is blown over a reddish ground derived -from iron. The wonderful bronze glazes, of which there are good -specimens in the British Museum and in the Salting collection, are -produced in a similar way. But some of these (and the same may be said -of the ‘iron rusts‘) partake rather of the nature of the more elaborated -glazes of the _flambé_ class. - -RED AND FLAMBÉ GLAZES (PL. XVII.).--We have left the red glazes to the -last, both from the complicated nature of the class and because one -variety, the _sang de bœuf_, forms a transition to the ‘splashed’ or -_flambé_ division. A red glaze or enamel, we have seen, can be produced -from three metals,--from gold, from copper, and from iron. With the -_Rose d’or_, which may be classed as a monochrome enamel, when used to -cover the backs of plates and bowls, we are not concerned here--it is -not properly a glaze in our sense of the word. The red derived from the -sesqui-oxide of iron was only successfully applied as a monochrome when, -at a late period, the difficulties attending its use were overcome by -combining the pigment with an alkaline flux. This is the _Mo-hung_ or -‘painted red’ of the muffle-stove, which was painted over the already -glazed ware, and therefore not properly itself a glaze. In fine -specimens it approaches to a vermilion colour; it is the jujube red of -the Chinese. It is with this colour, laid upon the elaborately modelled -paste, that the carved cinnabar lacquer is so wonderfully imitated.[91] - -But it is the red derived from copper that presents the most points of -interest. Indeed we now enter upon a series of glazes, beginning with -the pure deep red of - -[Illustration: _PLATE XVII._ CHINESE] - -the _sang de bœuf_, and then passing over the line to the long series of -variegated or ‘transmutation‘[92] glazes that have more than any others -fascinated the modern amateurs of ceramic problems. We have already seen -how these magic effects are produced by carefully modulating the passage -of the oxidising currents through an otherwise smoky and reducing -atmosphere in the furnace (p. 42). - -The typical _sang de bœuf_, or the ‘red of the sacrifice,’ as the -Chinese call it, was that made under the _régime_ of Lang Ting-tso a -forerunner of the three great directors of the imperial manufactory at -King-te-chen, and in later times it was always the aim of the potter to -imitate his work--the Lang yao--even in trifling details. According to -the Père D’Entrecolles, to obtain this red the Chinese made use of a -finely granulated copper which they obtained from the silver refiners, -and which therefore probably contained silver. Some other very -remarkable substances, he tells us, entered into the composition, but of -these it is the less necessary to speak, as he confesses that great -secrecy was maintained on the subject. - -In looking carefully _into_ a glaze of this kind, the deep -colouring-matter is seen suspended in a more or less greenish or -yellowish transparent matrix, in the form of streaks and clots of a -nearly opaque material.[93] The hue, in general effect, varies from a -deep blood-red to various shades of orange and brown, but intimately -mixed with the red, certain bluish streaks are sometimes to be seen in -one part or another of the surface. The colours should stop evenly at -the rim and at the base, which parts, if this is achieved, are covered -with a transparent glaze of pale greenish or yellowish tint. - -We have already seen that much depends upon the period of the firing at -which the glaze becomes liquid or soft, and upon the exact degree of -fluidity attained by it. Should the oxidising currents be allowed -further play at the critical period of the firing, the blue and greenish -stains and splashes will become more predominant, and we may either pass -over to the _flambé_ or ‘transmutation’ glazes, or finally the glaze may -become almost white and transparent. - -But we must hark back to the wares of the Sung period, to the Chün yao, -to find the origin of these variegated glazes. These early Sung glazes -were copied in the time of Yung-cheng, and if we are to believe the -contemporary list, already quoted, of the objects copied, they were of a -very complicated nature. In this class of _flambé_ ware we must include -also a large part of the so-called _Yuan tsu_ (see p. 77), a heavy -kaolinic stoneware, certainly not all dating from the Yuan or Mongol -period--a ware, indeed, still common in the north of China. This ware is -roughly covered with a glaze of predominant lavender tint, speckled with -red, and thus approaches to the ‘robin’s egg’ glaze of the American -collector, though this latter is found on a finer porcelain of later -times. - -Another name which has been used to include many of these variegated -glazes is _Yao-pien_ or ‘furnace-transmutation.’ This last word very -well expresses the process by which the colour is developed, but it must -be remembered that this is not exactly the meaning that the word -_yao-pien_ conveys to the Chinese mind.[94] With this term the happy -accidents of the furnace were linked by the Père D’Entrecolles: he tells -us that it was proposed to make a sacrificial red, but that the vase -came from the furnace like a kind of agate. Dr. Bushell thinks that -most of the fine pieces of this ware date from the time of Yung-cheng -and Kien-lung (1722-1795), and he is of opinion that they were prepared -by a _soufflé_ process rather than by any ‘academic transformation’ of a -copper-red glaze. ‘The piece,’ he says, ‘coated with a greyish crackle -glaze or with a ferruginous enamel of yellowish-brown tone, has the -transmutation glaze applied at the same time as a kind of overcoat. It -is put on with the brush in various ways, in thick dashes not completely -covering the surface of the piece, or flecked as with the point of the -brush in a rain of drops. The piece is finally fired in a reducing -atmosphere, and the air, let in at the critical moment when the -materials are fully fused, imparts atoms of oxygen to the copper and -speckles the red base with points of green and turquoise blue’ -(_Oriental Ceramic Art_, pp. 516-17). Some practical experiments lately -made in France would tend to show that the critical moment should be -placed a little earlier, _before_ the glaze is completely fused, for -after that point is reached the surrounding atmosphere has little -influence upon the metallic oxides in the glaze. It is to this -capricious action of the furnace gases that are due those wonderful -effects that may be observed in looking _into_ these glazes, curdled -masses of strange shapes and varying colour suspended in a more or less -transparent medium, and assuming at times those textures resembling -animal tissues which are graphically described by the Chinese as pig’s -liver or mule’s lungs. It must be understood that into many of the more -modern and _apprêtés_ specimens of _flambé_ ware the sources of the -violent contrasts of colour are found not only in the oxides of copper -and iron, but in those of cobalt and manganese also. - -But in contrast to ‘the stern delights’ of these flamboyant wares there -is another kind of glaze, chemically closely allied, for it is also of -transmutation copper origin, of which the associations are of another -kind. This is the peach-bloom, the ‘apple-red and green,’ or again the -‘kidney-bean’ glaze of the Chinese. Although claiming an origin from -Ming times, this glaze is always associated with the great viceroy Tsang -Ying-hsuan. The little vases and water-vessels of a pale pinkish red, -more or less mottled and varying in intensity, are highly prized by -Chinese collectors. - -DECORATION WITH SLIP.--There is a class of ware which might perhaps -claim a separate division for itself--I mean that decorated with an -_engobe_ or slip. We have already mentioned the most important cases -where this _engobe_ is applied to the surface of single-glazed wares: -these are, in the first place, the _fond laque_ (PL. XVI.), and in a -less degree certain blue and even white wares. The slip, of a cream-like -consistency, is as a rule painted on with a brush over the glaze, -generally, I think, after a preliminary firing.[95] This _engobe_ may -then itself be decorated with colours, as we have seen in the case of -the Ko yao, and the whole surface probably then covered with a second -glaze.[96] Sometimes when the ground itself is nearly white we get an -effect like the _bianco sopra bianco_ of Italian majolica. This -carefully prepared and finely ground _engobe_ contains, in some cases at -least, the same materials as those employed in the preparation of the -Sha-tai or ‘sand-bodied’ porcelain. - -PIERCED OR OPEN-WORK DECORATION (PL. XVIII. 1).--We may here find place -for another kind of decoration, one much admired in Europe in the -eighteenth century. - -[Illustration: _PLATE XVIII._ 1--CHINESE, PIERCED WARE, BLUE AND WHITE -2--CHINESE, BLUE AND WHITE WARE] - -This is obtained by piercing the paste so as to form an open-work -design, generally some simple diapered or key pattern, but sometimes -flowers or figures of cranes. The little apertures or windows thus -formed may be filled in by the glaze (if this is sufficiently viscous to -stretch across them) in the simple process of dipping. In this case the -glaze takes in part the place of the paste, and indeed in the closely -allied ‘Gombroon’ ware of Persia it is the thick, viscous glaze rather -than the friable sandy paste that holds the vessel together. It is the -plain white ware to which this decoration is generally applied in China. -There is one class where this pierced work is associated with groups of -little figures, in biscuit, in high or full relief--as is well -illustrated by a series of small cups in the Salting collection, some of -which bear traces of gilding and colours. - -The term ‘rice-grain’ was originally applied to the open-work diapers -filled in with glaze. As a whole this kind of work may be referred to -the later part of the reign of Kien-lung, and especially to that of his -successor, Kia-king (1795-1820), so that it is not unlikely that the -Persian frit-ware, some of which is of earlier date, may have served as -a model. - - -BLUE AND WHITE WARE.--This is, on the whole, the most important as well -as the best defined class of Chinese porcelain. The Chinese name, _Ching -hua pai ti_ (literally ‘blue flowers white ground‘), defines its nature -well enough. - -We have no information as to the origin and development of blue and -white porcelain in China, nor indeed do I know of any collection where -an attempt has been made to classify the vast material. We must here -content ourselves with a few notes which at best may indicate the ground -on which such a classification should be made. We have seen (p. 75) -that there is at least some presumptive evidence that the Chinese may -have derived their knowledge of the use of cobalt (as a material to -decorate the ground of their porcelain) from Western Asia, at a time -when both China and Persia were governed by one family of Mongol khans. -For we know now that in Syria or in Persia, in the twelfth or early in -the thirteenth century, a rough but artistic ware was painted with a -hasty decoration of cobalt blue and covered with a thick alkaline glaze; -while in China, at that time, we have no evidence for the existence of -any porcelain other than monochrome. - -It is possible that the earliest Chinese type of the under-glaze blue -may be found in certain thick brownish crackle ware, decorated under the -glaze, in blue, with a few strokes of the brush. Plates and dishes of -this kind have been found in Borneo, associated with early types of -celadon.[97] A similar ware, not necessarily of great antiquity, is -often found in common use in the north of China and, I think, in Korea, -and with it we may perhaps associate the greyish-yellow Ko yao decorated -with patches of blue and white slip. - -It is very likely that there would be a strong opposition on the part of -the Chinese literati to such a novel and exotic mode of decoration, but -that such opposition would be less felt in the case of ware made for -exportation, or it may be for use among the less conservative Mongols. -We have an instance of a similar feeling in the protest that we know was -made some two or three hundred years later against the application of -coloured enamels to the surface of porcelain. - -Of the thousands of specimens of blue and white porcelain in our -collections there is probably no single piece for which we can claim a -date earlier than the fifteenth century. We can, however, distinguish -two - -[Illustration: _PLATE XIX._ CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE WARE] - -types among the examples, which for the reasons given on page 83 we may -safely assign to the Ming period. The first is distinguished by a pure -but pale blue, and the design (generally somewhat sparingly applied) is -carefully drawn with a fine brush. This, it would seem, was the ware -imitated by the Japanese at the princely kilns of Mikawaji. The other -type is distinguished by the depth and brilliancy of its colour, the -true sapphire tint, differing from the later blue of the eighteenth -century, in which there is always a purplish tendency. There are some -good specimens of this type in the British Museum, but we will take as -our standard a jar at South Kensington about twelve inches in height -(PL. XIX.). The remarkable thickness of the paste in this vase shown in -the neck, which has at some time been cut down, the marks of the -junction of the moulded pieces of which it was built up, the slight -patina developed in the surface of the glaze, are all signs that point -to an early origin. But what is above all noticeable is the jewel-like -brilliancy of the blue pigment with which the decoration--a design of -_kilin_ sporting under pine-trees--is painted. - -When we come to the reign of Wan-li (1572-1619), to which time we may -assign the beginning of the direct exportation to Europe of Chinese -porcelain, a period of decline has already set in. The rare pieces of -blue and white so prized in Elizabethan and early Stuart days are in no -way remarkable either in their execution or in their decoration. - -We come now to an important class of blue and white ware which looms out -large in many collections. I mean the big plates and jars with roughly -executed designs often showing a Persian influence. The blue is never -pure--indeed it is often little better than a slaty grey, and sometimes -almost black. Most of what the dealers now know as ‘Ming porcelain’ may -be included in this class. To understand the source of this porcelain we -must refer the reader to what we shall have to say in Chapter XIII. -about the trade of China with Persia in the time of Shah Abbas and with -the north of India, during the reigns of the great Mogul rulers of the -seventeenth century. The increasing demand from these countries -coincided with a period of decline in China, for the period between the -death of Wan-li in 1620 and the revival of the manufacture at -King-te-chen towards the end of that century, is almost a blank in the -history of Chinese porcelain. But the export trade that had sprung up at -the end of the sixteenth century was actively carried on in spite of the -political troubles, and at no other time was the nature of the ware -produced so largely influenced by the foreign demand. But this demand -was at first chiefly for the Mohammedan East, and what reached Europe -was mostly the result of re-exportation from India and from the Persian -Gulf.[98] This picturesque and decorative ware is well represented at -South Kensington by specimens obtained in Persia, and many fine pieces -have lately been brought from India. Of this class of blue and white -ware we have already spoken in a former chapter (see p. 84). - -In Egypt, again, blue and white porcelain was greatly appreciated both -for decorative purposes and for common use. Large plates and dishes -painted with a scale-like pattern, formed of petals of flowers, are -still to be found in the old Arab houses of Cairo. - -Already by the beginning of the seventeenth century plates and bowls of -the Sinico-Persian type must have reached Holland in large quantities, -and we find them frequently introduced into their pictures by the -still-life painters of the time. I will only give two examples: (1) A -large still-life at Dresden by Frans Snyders (1579-1657), where as many -as eight plates and bowls, mostly roughly decorated with a greyish -cobalt _sous couverte_, are introduced; (2) a small picture in the -Louvre by William Kalff (1621-1693). Here we see a large ‘ginger-jar’ -with deep blue ground and white reserves. The porcelain introduced by -the Dutch painters is without exception of the blue and white class, and -in the earlier works the slaty blue tints are the most common. - -But European influence must now and then have made itself felt in China -before this time, to judge by some large jars at Dresden decorated with -arabesques of unmistakable renaissance type. One of these has been -fitted with a lid of Delft ware, made to match the other covers of -Chinese origin, and this Dutch-made lid cannot be dated later than the -first half of the seventeenth century.[99] - -But it is to the next age that the bulk of the vast collection of blue -and white brought together at Dresden by Augustus the Strong belongs. -The _lange Lijzen_, the famous dragon-vases, the large fish-bowls, and -the endless series of smaller objects collected by his agents from every -side, have made this royal collection a place of pilgrimage for all -china maniacs since his day. Not that the general average of the blue -and white ware is very high. We find here for the first time specimens -of the famous ‘hawthorn ginger-jars’ so dear to later collectors of -‘Nankin china.’ Of course this porcelain did not come from Nankin, the -jars were never used for ginger, and the decoration was not derived from -the hawthorn--a flower unknown in Chinese art. But it is in these jars -that the modern connoisseur, both in England and America, has found the -completest expression and highest triumph of the art of the Far East. No -words are too strong to express his enthusiasm. We are especially told -to look for a certain ‘palpitating quality’ in the blue ground. We hear -from Dr. Bushell that these ‘hawthorn jars’ are in China especially -associated with the New Year; filled with various objects they are then -given as presents. The decoration of prunus flowers (a species allied to -our blackthorn) is relieved against a background of ice, and it is the -rendering of this crackled ice in varying shades of blue that gives the -special _cachet_ to the ware.[100] - -There is a curious variety of blue and white in which the outline of the -design is filled up by a hatching of cross-lines as in an engraving. The -prototype of this kind of decoration probably dates from Ming times, and -it may possibly be derived from some kind of textile. - - -ENAMEL COLOURS OVER THE GLAZE.--We have already attempted to follow the -stages by which the application of enamel colours over the glaze found -its way into general use. We saw that before the introduction of fusible -enamels melting at the gentle heat of the muffle-stove, somewhat similar -effects were obtained by painting with certain colours upon the already -fired body or paste--on a biscuit ground, in fact. The coloured slip -used in this way, differing in no respect from a true glaze, was then -subjected to a fire of medium intensity, that is to say, it was exposed -to the _demi grand feu_ of the kiln. - -I think that the obscure problem of the nature of the coloured ware so -minutely described by Chinese writers and ascribed by them to early -Ming times, and the relation of this ware to the first forms of the -_famille verte_ can only find its solution by allowing a wider play to -the use of painting on biscuit and subsequent refiring, and that there -may probably have existed intermediate stages between the _demi grand -feu_ and the fully developed muffle-stove. It is indeed possible that -the same pieces may have successively been exposed to both these -fires.[101] - -The curious bowl, of very archaic aspect, lately added to the Salting -collection (see note, p. 89), illustrates well the difficulties in -accepting as final a decision as to date based upon the nature of the -enamel. This bowl bears the nien-hao of Ching-te (1505-21), and may well -date from that time, but among the enamel colours over the glaze we find -a cobalt blue (of a poor lavender tint indeed); we are told, however, -that the use of cobalt as an enamel colour was unknown before the time -of Kang-he.[102] - -Of the many schemes and varieties of decoration that crop up in the -course of the eighteenth century as a consequence of the increased -palette at the command of the enameller and of the miscellaneous demand -for foreign countries, we have already said something. Many important -types must remain unmentioned, and some are indeed scarcely represented -in our home collections. Of this I will give, in conclusion, a striking -instance. In the whole of the great collection at Dresden, now so -admirably arranged by Dr. Zimmermann, there is perhaps nothing more -striking than the circular stand covered with a trophy of large vases, -the decoration of which, though bold in general effect, is entirely -built up by fine lines of iron-red helped out by a little gold. These -vases, from their fine technique, I should assign to the end of the -reign of Kang-he, or possibly to that of Yung-cheng (1722-35). It is a -curious fact that by these parallel lines of iron-red an effect is -produced at a distance very similar to that obtained by a wash of the -_rouge d’or_. Possibly the aim was to imitate that colour. I have seen a -similar effect produced by red hatching on some English ware of the -eighteenth century. I do not think that this porcelain was made for the -Persian market, as has been asserted, for in that case we should find -specimens of it in the South Kensington collection.[103] There is, I -think, only one example of this ware in the British Museum, and in the -Salting collection only a pair of insignificant cups and saucers. On the -other hand, in the Dresden collection, whole classes even of eighteenth -century wares are unrepresented. I mention these facts to accentuate the -vast field covered by Chinese porcelain. It must be borne in mind that -the Chinese manufactured for the whole civilised world, and that the -taste and fashion in each country influenced, though often very -indirectly, and in a way not always to be recognised at first sight, the -forms and the decoration of the objects exported to it. This influence, -making for variety and change, has been in constant conflict with, and -has counteracted, the native conservative habit. It is an influence that -has probably made itself felt from very early days, but it culminated in -the eighteenth century. Indeed the rapid decline of Chinese porcelain -that set in before the end of that century was in no small degree -promoted by the unintelligent demand from Western countries at that -time. - -We shall later on have to look upon this question - -[Illustration: Plate XX. - -_Chinese Design in red and gold._] - -from a reversed point of view, and we shall have to notice how the -fictile wares of other countries were influenced, and finally in part -replaced by the products of the kilns of King-te-chen. For in any -general history of porcelain this influence of the East upon the West, -together with the return current from West to East, is the central -question. By bearing in mind these mutual influences a simplicity and -unity are given to this history which we might look for in vain in that -of any other art of equal importance. - -How the porcelain of King-te-chen found its way at first to the -surrounding minor states--to Korea, to Indo-China, and to Japan--and was -more or less successfully copied in these countries; how, on the other -hand, in India and in Persia the foreign ware, though long in general -use, was never imitated;[104] and how, finally, after reaching the -Christian West this porcelain influenced and in part replaced the -homemade fayence, even before the secret of its composition was -discovered--these, I think, are the prime factors in the history of -porcelain. - -It will, however, be convenient to say something of the porcelain made -in the surrounding countries, especially in Japan, before taking up the -subject of the Chinese commerce with Europe, for this reason among -others: the products of the Japanese kilns became so inextricably mixed -up with those of King-te-chen in the course of their journey to the -West, that it would be impossible to treat of the one class apart from -the other. - -But before ending with the porcelain of China we must take a rapid -glance at a large and complicated group--that decorated wholly or in -part in European style. - -Quite early in the century, perhaps before 1700, figures and groups in -plain white ware, for the most part attired in the European costume of -the day, were exported from China. Many of these grotesque figures may -be seen in the great Dresden collection, and a few in the British -Museum. Later on it became the fashion for the European merchants at -Canton to supply the native enamellers of that city with engravings, to -be copied by them in colours on the white ware sent down from -King-te-chen. In other cases the captain of a Dutch or English vessel -lying in the Canton roads would employ a native artist to decorate a -plate or dish with a picture of his good ship. - -But the most frequent task given to these Canton enamellers was the -reproduction of elaborate coats of arms upon the centre of a plate or -dish, or sometimes upon a whole dinner-service. There is in the British -Museum a remarkable collection of this armorial china, brought together -for the most part by the late Sir A. W. Franks.[105] Orders came not -from England alone, but from Holland, Sweden, Germany, and even Russia. -Services were thus decorated for Frederick the Great and other royal -heads. The practice seems to have been kept up during the whole of the -eighteenth century, but we do not know the precise date at which it was -introduced. In a few cases--the large Talbot plate in the British Museum -is an instance (PL. XXI.)--the arms were painted in blue under the -glaze, and such decoration was probably executed at King-te-chen. The -small plate with the Okeover arms in the same collection was, according -to the family tradition, ordered as early as the year 1700, but the -decoration in my opinion would undoubtedly point to a later date[106] -(PL. XII. 2). - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXI._ CHINESE, BLUE AND WHITE WARE] - -It is hardly necessary at the present day to mention that this armorial -china has nothing to do with Lowestoft. A fictitious interest was, -however, long given to this ware by its strange attribution to that -town. - -Much Chinese porcelain, either plain white or sparely decorated under -the glaze with blue, was imported during the eighteenth century, to be -daubed over, often in the worst taste, with a profusion of gaudy -colours, in Holland, in Germany, and in England. At Venice, too, the -plain Oriental ware was at one time elaborately painted with a black -enamel. - -More interest attaches to the porcelain enamelled at Canton for the -Indian market. The Chinese seem in some way to have associated the -_yang-tsai_ or ‘foreign colours’ with the enamels made in the south of -India, especially at Calicut, and it is possible that Indian patterns -and schemes of colour may have influenced some of the developments of -the _famille rose_. The Canton enamellers must at the same time have -been working on the richly decorated ware for the Siamese market, but it -is on their enamel paintings on copper that the Indo-Siamese influence -is chiefly seen (see next chapter). - -Nor were these exotic schemes of decoration confined to the Canton -enamellers. At more than one time there was something like a rage for -copying foreign designs--Japanese, among others--at King-te-chen, and -that not for trade purposes alone, for as we have mentioned already, -both Kang-he and Kien-lung seem to have taken a passing interest in the -strange productions of the outer barbarian. - -Of the many kinds of ceramic wares made in different parts of China -which from the opacity of the paste we cannot class as porcelain, we can -only mention two, both of which would probably come under the head of -our kaolinic stoneware:--1. The YI-HSING YAO, made at a place of that -name not far from Shanghai, which includes the red unglazed ware, -esteemed by the Chinese for the brewing of tea. This is the so-called -Boccaro successfully copied by Böttger. Sometimes we find this stoneware -painted with enamel colours thickly laid on, and the design is often -accentuated by ridges or _cloisons_. 2. The KUANG YAO, of which there -are two classes. The ware made near Amoy is a yellowish to brownish -stoneware, thickly glazed and rudely decorated. This coarse pottery is -much in favour with the Chinese colonists in America and elsewhere. -Again in the south of the province of Kuang-tung, at Yang-chiang-hsien, -a reddish stoneware has long been made. It is covered with a thick -glaze, often mottled, more or less blue, and sometimes resembling the -_flambé_ glazes of King-te-chen. Indeed this Kuang yao at one time was -copied at the latter place.[107] It is often stated that true porcelain -was made in Kuang-tung, but the evidence on the whole is against this. -We will quote, however, what the Abbé Raynal says (_Histoire du Commerce -des Européens dans les Deux Indes_, 1770). He states that competition -with King-te-chen had been abandoned ‘excepté au voisinage de Canton, où -on fabrique la porcelaine connue sous le nom de porcelaine des Indes. La -pâte en est longue et facile; mais en général les couleurs sont très -inférieures. Toutes les couleurs, excepté le bleu, y relèvent en bosse -et sont communément mal appliquées. La plupart des tasses, des assiettes -et des autres vases que portent nos négocians, sortent de cette -manufacture, moins estimée à la Chine que ne le sont dans nos contrées -celles de fayence.‘[108] Compare with this what we have said about the -rough porcelain exported to India in the seventeenth century (p. 85). - -Since the extinction of the Ting kilns an opaque white stoneware has -been largely manufactured in the north, and near Pekin a commoner -earthenware is largely made (Bushell, pp. 631-638). - -The bricks with which the Porcelain Tower of Nankin was constructed were -for the most part composed of a kaolinic stoneware. - -Finally, we should point out that nearly all these various kinds of -stoneware are represented in the British Museum collection. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE PORCELAIN OF KOREA AND OF THE INDO-CHINESE PENINSULA - - -KOREA - -The self-contained culture of the Middle Kingdom spread at an early time -to the less advanced and more or less tributary countries that -surrounded it: on the south to the confused complex of states that are -conveniently grouped together as Indo-China; on the north to Korea; and -on the east, or more accurately on the north-east, to Japan. To these -islands, however, the Chinese civilisation for the most part spread by -way of Korea, and as this was in a measure the route taken in the case -of the potter’s art, it may be well to deal first with the great -northern peninsula. - -The Chinese claim to have conquered and even incorporated Korea as long -ago as the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), and even before that time the -country had been overrun by the Japanese. The latter people have at all -times presented themselves to the Koreans as ruthless conquerors and -pirates, and indeed they succeeded during their last great expedition at -the end of the sixteenth century in sweeping the country so bare that to -this day its poverty and the low state of its artistic culture is -generally attributed to this gigantic razzia from which the country -never recovered. And yet Korea has always taken a place in Japanese -estimation second only to China as a source of their artistic and -practical knowledge, if not of their literature and philosophy; and this -is especially the case with regard to the potter’s craft--the technical -part of it above all. Time and again do we hear of famous Korean -potters, or even of whole families and tribes, being brought over and -set to work by the local Japanese ruler either with the materials they -brought with them, or with the clays and glazes that their experience -enabled them to discover in their new homes. - -We need not, therefore, be surprised to find that after the wonders of -Japan had been laid open to the admiration of the West, the greatest -hopes were entertained of finding artistic treasures at least as -valuable in the great peninsula to the west which still remained a -forbidden land. Failing direct evidence of this wealth, it became the -habit to attribute to Korea any Oriental ware, old or new, of which the -origin was unknown. This tendency was taken advantage of by more than -one enterprising dealer, and when at a later time the country was in a -measure thrown open, cases of gorgeously decorated Japanese ware, -brand-new from Yokohama or Nagasaki, were sent round by way of Chemulpo, -the port of the Korean capital, so that their Korean origin could be -guaranteed. Long before this, the home of an important group of Japanese -porcelain, that now generally known as ‘Kakiyemon,’ had been found by -Jacquemart in Korea. Now that of late years these various fallacies and -_supercheries_ have been exposed, and that the extreme poverty of the -land in artistic work of any kind has been demonstrated, we may perhaps -see a tendency to an undue depreciation of the artistic capabilities of -the country in former days. We must at any rate remember that the -Japanese experts, who are in the best position to know, have always -maintained that the Koreans in the sixteenth century were possessed of -the secret of enamelling in colour upon porcelain, or, at all events, -that they were acquainted with the coloured glazes of the _demi grand -feu_, and that so good an authority as Captain Brinkley has accepted, as -of Korean origin, specimens of enamelled ware still existing in Japanese -collections. - -Meantime we must be contented with the scanty examples of pottery, -stoneware, and porcelain that have been actually brought home from -Korea, and among these pieces we must discriminate between the wares of -native manufacture and the porcelain that had been imported from China, -either overland by way of Niu-chuang or across the Gulf of Petchili from -the ports of Shantung. Of late years many specimens have been collected, -chiefly at Seoul, the capital, especially by members of the various -foreign legations, and some of these have found their way into European -museums.[109] - -Apart from some small pieces of modern blue and white and enamelled -wares, undoubtedly of true porcelain, but very rough in execution and -poor in colour, which are said to be of local manufacture, we find:-- - -1. A plain white ware often showing signs of age, but apparently in no -way differing from the ivory-white ware of Fukien. Japanese experts, -however, claim to distinguish pieces of Korean origin. Such specimens -are much valued in Japan, and some are said to have been brought back -after the great expedition at the end of the sixteenth century. We find -also specimens of a heavy white ware, with decoration in a high relief, -which is undoubtedly of native origin. At Sèvres is a large white vase, -with dragons in relief, brought from Seoul. - -2. Celadon porcelain, of many types. Of this ware there are many -specimens in our museums. At Sèvres we find two bowls of a fine rich -tint of olive green, presented by the King of Korea to the late -President Carnot ‘as the most valuable of the ancient productions of his -poor country.’ In the same collection may be seen a case full of -important specimens brought back in 1893 by M. de Plancy, the French -diplomatic agent at Seoul. Among them are some large rude celadon vases, -one with some attempts at blue decoration under the glaze. In the -British Museum are several celadon bowls, some with moulded floral -patterns in relief. Among some bowls of a greyish celadon from Korea, in -the Ethnographical Museum at Dresden, I noticed some with an unglazed -ring on the upper surface, pointing to a primitive method of support in -the furnace, perhaps similar to that formerly employed in Siam. Dr. -Bushell quotes from a Chinese work on Korea, written in the first half -of the twelfth century, an account of the elaborately moulded wine-cups -and vessels of all kinds made in that country. This ware is described as -of a kingfisher green, but it may probably be regarded as a -full-coloured variety of celadon. This interpretation is confirmed by a -later Chinese work (published 1387), which distinctly says--I quote from -Dr. Bushell’s translation--‘The ceramic objects produced in the ancient -Korean kilns were of a greyish green colour resembling the celadon ware -of Lung-chuan. There was one kind overlaid with white sprays of flowers, -but this was not valued so very highly’ (_Oriental Ceramic Art_, p. -681). - -3. An important class of Korean ware is formed by the coarsely crackled -pieces of brownish or yellow colour, which in China would probably be -classed as Ko yao. These are often roughly decorated with daubs of blue -under the glaze, resembling in this some of the older pieces brought -from Borneo. - -4. A greyish ware, inlaid with designs of white slip, on the principle -of our ‘encaustic tiles’ of the Middle Ages. This is perhaps the only -original type that we can connect with Korea, and it would seem that -this is the ware alluded to at the end of the quotation we have just -given from an old Chinese book. This inlaid ware appears to have been -greatly admired by the Japanese, for it was closely imitated in more -than one district. The well-known Yatsushiro pottery, first made in the -province of Higo in the seventeenth century, is distinctly a copy of -this Korean model. Among the specimens at Sèvres brought home by M. de -Plancy, there is a tall vase of this type cut down in the neck decorated -with flying cranes in white slip. This ware, however, is not a true -porcelain; at the best it is a kind of kaolinic stoneware, and the same -may be said of most of the old heavy pieces brought back from Korea. - -There is not much in the way of decorative design to be found on any of -the varieties of Korean porcelain or stoneware that we have now -described, and we may look in vain among the few ornamental _motifs_ to -be found on these wares for any marked divergency from Chinese types. - - -SIAM AND THE INDO-CHINESE PENINSULA. - -Under the somewhat vague heading of Indo-China we will collect a few -notes upon the specimens of porcelain that have been found in the -various states into which the great peninsula that stretches south -between the China Sea and the Bay of Bengal is divided. - -In looking through the artistic productions of all these countries, we -find one marked characteristic; and that is the way in which Chinese -forms and Chinese decorative _motifs_ have pushed their way in and in -part replaced the old Buddhist and Brahmanistic styles. - -As matters now stand, the most important for us of these states is Siam, -for here we are at once brought face to face with one of the places of -manufacture of the famous heavy celadon ware which in the Middle Ages -was carried by Arab and Chinese traders over all the seas of the then -known world. We shall have in a later chapter to come back to the -question of this trade, and then we shall be able to show that the -discussion as to the origin of this _martabani_ ware has been the means, -as is indeed often the case in such disputes, of throwing much light on -the early history of Chinese porcelain. - -For the present we are only concerned with an important discovery quite -recently made not far from the frontier of Siam and Pegu. Many specimens -of celadon, some of the older type, have come in recent years from -various parts of Indo-China. In the museum at Sèvres are some pieces of -rough greyish ware, with a thick, irregularly crackled glaze, brought -back in 1893 by the _Mission Fournereux_ from Siam and Cambodia; among -these fragments of old celadon we find a pair of contorted bowls, fused -together in the kiln, in fact undoubted ‘wasters,’ such as could only be -found in the neighbourhood of the furnaces where they were fired. At the -instigation of Mr. C. H. Read of the British Museum, Mr. Lyle has lately -explored the remains of old potteries now hidden in deep jungle, at a -place called Sawankalok, not far from the western frontier of Siam. -These old kilns are situated some two hundred miles to the north of -Bangkok, and about the same distance from the port of Molmein (Malmen). -To show the importance of this discovery, we need only point out that -near to the latter town lies the old port of Martaban, which played so -important a part in the mediæval trade of the Arabs, and from which, -doubtless, the name of Martabani, by which celadon ware has always been -known in the Mohammedan East, is derived. Among the many fragments -brought back by Mr. Lyle are some which from their distinct -translucency, and from the whiteness and the conchoidal fracture of the -paste, may be unhesitatingly classed as true porcelain. The colour of -the glaze varies from a prevailing greyish green to a fine turquoise -tint in a few specimens. That the ware was made on the spot is proved -by the presence of many defective pieces--‘wasters’ that had been thrown -away--as well as by the numerous conical props (for the support of the -ware in the kiln) found mixed with the fragments. On these tall, -nozzle-shaped props the plates and bowls were supported in an inverted -position. It is by this unusual method of support that we may account -for the fact that the glaze covers the _whole_ of the lower surface--so -exceptional an occurrence in the case of porcelain--and at the same time -for the absence of the glaze from a ring-like portion of the upper -surface. We may note that a similar distribution of the glaze is found -occasionally on large plates of the old heavy ware brought from other -countries; of this there are notable examples in the museum at Gotha -(see p. 72). The ground in these Siamese specimens has assumed where -exposed, but there only, the deep red so admired by the Chinese in the -old Lung-chuan ware. The paste, in many of the examples, has been -moulded in low relief in the characteristic lotus-leaf pattern, while on -a few pieces there is a rough decoration in greenish black under the -glaze. All remembrance of these old kilns has completely passed away, -and at the present day the local market is supplied with a rough -stoneware brought overland from Yunnan.[110] - -The porcelain now found in Siam, of which many specimens have been -lately brought to Europe, is of a very different character. This is the -highly decorated enamelled ware which may be classed with the _famille -rose_ from the prevalence of the _rouge d’or_ among the enamels. This -ware, none of which can be earlier than the middle of the eighteenth -century, is certainly made in China, but the presence in the decoration -of - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXII._ CHINESE] - -certain peculiar Buddhist types makes it rather difficult to believe -that the enamelling was in all cases executed in Canton. It is true that -in the colours, and in the general style of the decoration, we are often -reminded of the well-known Cantonese enamels on copper. The white -surface of the ground is, for the most part, entirely hidden by a floral -decoration; but amid this, on medallions surrounded by tongues of flame, -we find centaur-like monsters with human heads, above which rise -almond-shaped _nimbi_. From the top of the cover of the hemispherical -bowls--the commonest form--rises a knob in the shape of the Buddhist -jewel. The enamel of this ware appears to scale off readily, as if from -imperfect firing. The prevailing colours are a deep red for the ground, -and a bright green relieved with white and yellow for the design (PL. -XXII.). While the finer specimens, as we have already said, remind us of -the Canton enamels, others suggest rather, in the scheme of colour and -decoration, the painted and lacquered bowls of India and Ceylon. In the -Indian Museum at South Kensington may be seen an exceptionally fine -collection of this Sinico-Siamese porcelain, lent by Signor Cardu, and a -good opportunity is here provided for comparing its decoration with that -on the rough earthenware from Ceylon and various parts of India which is -exhibited in adjacent cases. - -A coarse kind of porcelain is made in Annam. At Sèvres are some cups -presented by the envoy from that kingdom. The rude pattern of bamboos -painted in blue, _sous couverte_, on a greyish paste, does not give an -exalted idea of Annamese civilisation. - -In Japan we sometimes find specimens of a somewhat rough but -picturesquely decorated ware, hardly a true porcelain, I think, which -from the country of its origin is known as Kochi. From the nature and -colour of its glaze it may be compared to some of the old Chinese wares -of the _demi grand feu_, and again, in certain points, to the earlier -types of the Japanese porcelain of Kaga and Imari. Kochi has been -identified with Cochin-China, but as the geographical ideas of the -Japanese as to foreign states were not very definite--derived as they -were from the Chinese geographers of the Ming period--we may perhaps be -justified in looking further north for the source of this ware, either -in Tonquin or in some part of Kuang-tung, the southernmost province of -China.[111] - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE PORCELAIN OF JAPAN - - -In any assemblage of the ceramic products of Japan, more especially in -one of native origin, it will be seen that porcelain no longer, as in -China, holds the place of honour. This place would be taken, in such a -collection, by a series of small bowls and jars mostly of a -dark-coloured earthenware, which offer little to attract a European eye. -On the other hand, a Western collector of Japanese ceramics would be -likely to find more to interest him in the decorated fayence of which -the kilns of Kioto and Satsuma have furnished the most exquisite -examples. And yet, perhaps, in no country, not even in China, do we find -porcelain, and that of a high technical quality, so largely employed for -domestic use. The commonest coolie eats his rice or drinks his tea or -_saké_ from a bowl or cup of porcelain, while to find specimens of the -old rough stoneware or earthenware we must explore the _Kura_--the -fireproof storehouses of the rich noble or merchant--where, wrapped in -cases of old brocade, these little objects are carefully preserved and -classified. It would be out of place here to enter into the causes, -political, social, and, we may add, also psychological, that have -influenced the Japanese mind in thus associating all that is refined and -intellectual with a class of pottery in which, to say the least, the -artistic possibilities are confined within very narrow limits. But, as -is now well known, this tendency has been fostered by the ceremonies -connected with the social gatherings known as the _Cha-no-yu_ (literally -‘hot water for tea‘), when the powdered tea is prepared in and drunk -from examples of these primitive wares. On such occasions the criticism -and measured praise of the utensils employed forms an important--indeed -an almost obligatory--part of the conversation among the guests. - -The merits of Chinese porcelain, however, have long been acknowledged by -the Japanese. Possibly as early as the ninth century specimens of -celadon were imported. Direct communication with China has indeed since -that time been subject to many interruptions, and it has at all times -been carried on subject to galling restrictions and heavy duties levied -by the governments of both countries. The Japanese have at many times -made piratical descents upon the coast of China, and among the loot thus -obtained many fine pieces of Chinese porcelain may have found their way -to Japan. There was, however, a period in the fifteenth century during -which a pretty steady trade was kept up, under the patronage of the -pleasure-loving Ashikaga Shoguns, and many specimens of the earlier Ming -porcelain must have reached Japan at that time. It has always been the -celadon ware that has found most favour with the Japanese, and fabulous -prices were, and indeed still are, given for fine pieces. We may note -that such specimens are as a rule associated in the Japanese mind with -the Yuan or Mongol dynasty. Speaking generally, however, it was not to -this direct intercourse with China that the Japanese attribute their -knowledge of ceramic processes. From an early date nearly all that they -knew of the continental lands of Asia seems to have reached them from -Korea, a country where they played alternately the part of ruthless -invaders and devastators, and of eager and submissive students. - -Let us then rapidly glance over the records preserved by the Japanese of -their early lessons in the potter’s art, that we may better understand -the conditions under which the manufacture of porcelain was at length -established in the country at the end of the sixteenth century. - -Of the early pottery of Japan--rude figures, coffins, and strange-shaped -vases of coarse earthenware dating from the early centuries of our -era--we know, thanks to the researches of Mr. Gowland, much more than we -do of the products of a similar stage of culture in China. In the -British Museum we may see a collection, unique of its kind in Europe, of -prehistoric objects, found most of them in or around the dolmen tombs of -the early emperors, and brought together in Japan by that energetic -explorer. As, according to Japanese tradition, Korean potters were in -those early days already settled in Japan, we need not be surprised to -find that vessels of very similar shape, but of a rather better ware, -have also been found in Korean tombs. - -The earliest ware whose origin we can trace to a definite spot, is that -formerly made at Karatsu, in Hizen, near to the great porcelain district -of later days. Korean potters are traditionally reported to have been -established here as far back as the early part of the seventh century. -Of this primitive ware we will only note that the pieces were placed in -the kiln in an inverted position, either without supports (the -_Kuchi-nashi-de_, or ‘unglazed orifice ware‘), or supported by two props -of rectangular section (the _Geta okoshi_, or ‘clog supports‘). This is -a point of interest in connection with the similar devices used in -firing some of the early celadon. But, as Captain Brinkley points out -(_The Chrysanthemum_, vol. iii. p. 18), it was the introduction of tea -from China[112] early in the thirteenth century that gave rise, for the -first time, to a demand for a better kind of pottery. - -Kato Shirozayemon, a native of Owari, made, we are told, a five years’ -visit to China about this time (he returned to his native village of -Seto in 1223) in order to study the potter’s craft. The ware that he -succeeded in making on his return to Japan has a reddish brown paste -covered with a dark glaze, streaked and patched with lighter tints. This -was probably more or less an imitation of the Kien yao, the ‘hare-fur’ -cups made in the province of Fukien in late Sung times.[113] These cups, -so prized by the Japanese, are of interest to us, as they may, in some -degree, be regarded as the ancestral type from which the long series of -Japanese tea-bowls is derived. But neither the ware of Toshiro (he is -generally known by this shortened form of his name), nor that of his -followers, has any claim to be classed as porcelain. It is, however, -from Seto, the native village of Toshiro, where he set up his kilns on -his return from China, that the commonest Japanese name for all kinds of -ceramic ware, but more especially for porcelain, is derived, and the -district is now a great centre for the production of blue and white -porcelain. - -Apart from this dark ware and from the heavy celadon, it would seem that -at this time, and even later, the only true porcelain known to the -Japanese was the white translucent ware of Korea, itself probably an -offshoot of some early form of Ting ware. That Toshiro, who must have -travelled in Fukien barely two generations earlier than Marco Polo, -should only have learned to make this one kind of dark ware, shows how -locally circumscribed was the knowledge and use in China, in Sung times, -of different kinds of porcelain. - -We have to wait nearly three hundred years for the first attempts at the -manufacture of porcelain in Japan. Gorodayu Shonsui, the second great -name in the history of Japanese ceramics, made his way to Fuchow early -in the sixteenth century. He probably visited King-te-chen, and returned -to Japan in the year 1513, bringing with him specimens of the materials -used by the Chinese, both for the paste and for the glaze of their -porcelain. But although Shonsui on his return settled at Arita, in the -centre of what was at a later time the principal porcelain district of -Japan, he appears never to have discovered the precious deposits of -kaolin in the neighbouring hills; for when the supplies brought from -China came to an end, he and his successors had to fall back upon the -manufacture of fayence. A few specimens of the ware he made have been -preserved in Japan, and it has often been copied since Shonsui’s -time--even in China, it is said. It is a fair imitation of the Ming blue -and white, and we may note that the plum-blossom often occurs in the -decoration. We are told that the secret of the process of _enamel -painting_ was rigorously kept from Shonsui. We have seen that it is at -least doubtful whether this process was known to the Chinese at that -time, but the reference may be to the ware covered with polychrome -painted glazes. - -There are two pieces attributed to Shonsui, on native evidence, in the -historical collection of Japanese pottery at South Kensington, but it is -very doubtful whether these very ordinary pieces of blue and white are -even as old as the later date (1580-90) somewhat strangely attributed to -them on the same authority. - -And now the Korean potter is found again on the scene. It was reserved -for Risampei, a native of that country, to recognise for the first -time--in 1599, it is said--the value of the white crumbling rocks -out-cropping on the hills that rise at the back of Arita. Here he built -his kilns and succeeded in making a fairly good imitation of the Chinese -blue and white which was now becoming more and more in request as an -article of commerce. - -At this stage we are brought into contact not only with the local -history and the politics of the day, but with the great questions of -world traffic that were being fought out at the time. The rich western -island of Kiushiu had long been the principal seat of the efforts of the -Portuguese and Spanish missionaries. They had nowhere more converts than -on the coasts of Hizen and on the adjacent islands. So that to one or -more of these early kilns established near Arita we may reasonably -assign some at least of those strange plates, painted with Biblical -subjects, that have excited so much curiosity. I will only point to the -large dish with an elaborate picture of the Baptism of Christ in the -centre, now at South Kensington (PL. XIV.). The subject is painted in -blue under the glaze and heightened by gilding. Around the edge we find -a design of little naked boys--_amorini_, in fact--playing among -flowers.[114] - -We can find nothing in the Japanese records to throw light on the -porcelain made in Hizen during the first half of the seventeenth -century, but much of the somewhat roughly decorated blue and white ware -(the larger dishes especially, made for India and Persia) has been -classed, on the ground of the occurrence of spur-marks, and of the -nature of the paste and decoration, as Japanese.[115] Some of this ware -may be as old as this time, when (I mean shortly before the middle of -the seventeenth century) the demand from the West was ever increasing, -and the Chinese supply was so uncertain and so inferior in quality. - -Meantime the Dutch and English factories on the island of Hirado, -opposite to the pottery district of Imari, were finally closed (1641), -and all communication with the outside world prohibited. The only -exception made was in favour of the strictly limited commerce carried on -through the Dutch and Chinese merchants, who were confined in their -prison-like factories at Nagasaki.[116] - -Now it is a remarkable fact that our first definite information -concerning the introduction of Japanese porcelain into Europe dates from -this very period, and it is to approximately the same date that the -Japanese ascribe the introduction of coloured enamels among the Hizen -potters. One Higashidori Tokuzayemon, a potter of Imari, is said to have -derived some knowledge of the precious secret from the captain of a -Chinese junk trading at Nagasaki in 1648. With the assistance of -Kakiyemon, a skilled potter of the same district, he succeeded in -imitating the five-coloured enamelled wares of the Wan-li period. -Another Japanese authority[117] gives the name of his assistant as Gosu -Gombei, and states that by 1645, after many fruitless experiments, they -were able to produce a ware decorated with coloured enamels and with -gold and silver, which was exported at first through the medium of a -Chinese merchant, and shortly after sold to the Dutch. - -So far from Japanese sources. On the other hand, we hear of an early -Dutch ambassador sent from Batavia--‘_Le Sieur Wagenaar, grand -connoisseur et fort habile dans ces sortes d‘œuvres_‘--in fact himself a -designer of patterns, one of which, it is said--white flowers on a blue -ground--found great favour at this time. In the same work[118] we are -told that this gentleman, who combined the most delicate diplomatic -negotiations with practical commercial undertakings, took back with him -to Batavia more than twenty thousand pieces of _plain white ware_ -(1634-35). It is, however, very probable that the Dutch may have had a -great deal to do with the introduction of coloured enamels into Japan. - -We must remember that during this time (say between 1630 and 1650) two -important series of events were coming to pass which revolutionised the -Eastern trade. These were, first, in China the troubles attending the -expulsion of the Ming dynasty, including the burning of King-te-chen and -the stoppage of the supply of porcelain for shipping at Canton; and -secondly, the final triumph of the anti-Christian party in Japan, and -the closing of the country to foreigners. It is no wonder, then, if the -Dutch ambassador was empowered to offer almost any terms to the -Japanese, provided that the latter would only make an exception in -favour of the merchants of his country. - -Turning now from the records of the Japanese and of the Dutch merchants, -let us examine the specimens of Japanese porcelain that we find in our -oldest European collections, and which we may reasonably assign to the -seventeenth century. Apart from the blue and white, we find here two -classes of enamelled ware which we now know to be of Japanese origin. - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXIII._ JAPANESE, KAKIYEMON ENAMELLED WARE] - -It may indeed be said that it was in the separation, and in the definite -attribution to Japan, of these two groups, that the first step was made -towards a scientific classification of Oriental porcelain, and for this -work we are chiefly indebted to the labours of the late Sir A. W. -Franks. We will first deal with what may on the whole be regarded as the -oldest group. - -KAKIYEMON WARE.--Under this name it will be convenient to describe the -compact group of decorated porcelain that we find taking so prominent a -place in our old collections. Of this ware there is a most -representative series of specimens in the British Museum. There are also -many interesting pieces scattered through the rooms of Hampton Court. -The chief characteristics of this Kakiyemon ware are the creamy-white -paste, without the bluish tinge so common in other Japanese porcelain, -the moulded forms (in the case of the small vases and of the dishes with -scalloped edges), and above all the peculiar nature of the decoration -that is somewhat sparely scattered over the ground. Here we find the -well-known combination of the pine, the bamboo, and the plum (Japanese -_Sho-chiku-bai_) associated with quaintly executed figures in old -Chinese costume. In the foreground is often found a curious hedge or -trellis-fence of straw or rushes, and at times, at the side, a grotesque -tiger is seen disporting in strange attitudes (PL. XXIII.). Exotic -birds, singularly ill-drawn, are sometimes seen, but individual flowers -are introduced with great decorative feeling--witness the sprig of -poppy, a rare flower in Japanese art, on a plate in the British Museum. -There is a non-Japanese element in the design which seems to hamper the -native artist, but whether this element is to be sought in Holland or in -Korea--or perhaps in a degree in both--is quite uncertain.[119] As for -the enamel colours employed, the most important point is the use of a -blue enamel _over the glaze_. This colour is freely employed in -combination with the usual opaque red. The other colours, more sparingly -used, are a green of emerald tint, a pale yellow, and a poorish purple. -The full command of a fine-coloured blue enamel at so early a date is -interesting. In the earlier Chinese examples this colour is poor, and -the enamel is apt to chip off. On a few rare pieces of this Kakiyemon -porcelain we see the blue applied under the glaze, and there is one -specimen in the British Museum on which the two methods are combined. We -rarely come upon specimens of this ware in Japan. In China, at one time, -it was copied for exportation, and Dr. Bushell thinks that the porcelain -classed as _Tung-yang-tsai_ or ‘Japanese colours,’ in the time of -Kang-he, is of this class. A large octagonal jar at South Kensington, -somewhat crudely decorated in the Kakiyemon style, which came from -Persia, may possibly be of Chinese origin. There is, at any rate, no -doubt that this is the ware known, perhaps two hundred years ago, in -France as the _première qualité colorée_, and in England and Germany as -‘old East Indian,’ It was reserved for Jacquemart to class it as Korean. -It is, however, remarkable that in neither the Japanese nor the Dutch -records of the time do we find any notice of a decoration at all -resembling that found on this ware. Any hint that is given from these -sources would apply much better to the class of porcelain that we have -next to describe. In later chapters we shall see that the important -position given to this Kakiyemon porcelain by our ancestors is reflected -in the decoration applied to more than one of the early wares of Europe. - -IMARI OR OLD JAPAN.--The many kilns that sprung up in the province of -Hizen during the - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXIV._ 1. CHINESE. 2. JAPANESE.] - -course of the seventeenth century, along the slope of the hills that -produced both the china-stone and the china-clay, were chiefly occupied -in making blue and white porcelain, the _sometsuke_ or ‘dyed’ ware of -the Japanese, and this, we may add, is still the case. - -The underglaze blue indeed has always remained the dominant element in -the Imari porcelain, and to judge by the older pieces the employment of -other colours crept in gradually. This blue is generally of a peculiar -dark lavender or slaty tint, and with the addition to it of a little -gilding we obtain already the general effect of the ‘old Japan’ -decoration. When to the blue and gold was added an opaque iron-red (from -this pigment the Japanese succeeded in obtaining a great variety of fine -tints), we attain to a scheme of decoration which, at first sight, gives -the impression of being built up with a full palette of colours; this is -the typical _nishiki-de_ or ‘brocaded’ ware of the Japanese (PL. I.). -Indeed in many of the finest specimens we find nothing beyond these -three colours--blue, red, and gold. But the blue, derived from the -native ore, the concretionary ‘wad,’ containing generally more manganese -than cobalt, is often wholly or in part replaced as the dominant colour -by a glossy black painted over the glaze, and this, too, in specimens -with some claims to antiquity. The other colours of the Chinese -‘pentad,’ the green, the yellow, and the purple, generally occupy quite -subordinate positions. It is to be noted that in this ware we never find -the blue applied as an enamel _over_ the glaze. - -It would be a mistake to regard the whole series of Imari enamelled -porcelain as made only for exportation. It is true that the large vases -and plates with the well-known effective but somewhat overloaded -decoration are not found in Japan, although such pieces have been made -at Arita for the last two hundred years for exportation from Nagasaki; -but the more quietly decorated ware of Imari, in endless forms and with -decoration of the most varied kind, has long been in general domestic -use, and many smaller pieces of great artistic beauty have been lately -obtained from Japanese collections.[120] - -In fact, the early enamelled wares of Imari are recognised by the -Japanese as the _fons et origo_ of most of the decorated porcelain, to -say nothing of the later pottery, of their country. We have seen how our -‘old Japan’ group started from a slight modification of the blue and -white, but we must find place also for an early ware decorated in five -colours, somewhat in the Wan-li style. Of this ware but few pieces -survive. The tradition, however, was carried on at Kutani and at many of -the Kioto kilns in the eighteenth century. - -Late in the seventeenth century the Kizayemon family obtained the -privilege of supplying the porcelain, decorated with cranes and -chrysanthemums, for the personal use of the Mikado, and at the present -day a member of this family is said to still claim the right of -purveying to the imperial court. It is to one of these Kizayemons, but -not until the year 1770, that the merit of the invention of seggars for -holding the porcelain in the kiln is given by the Japanese. It would -seem that before that date no such protection was given. That such a -claim should be made shows how completely Japan at this time was shut -out from the rest of the world. - -And here we may point out how self-contained was the development of -Japanese porcelain during the palmy days of the Tokugawa _régime_ (say -from 1650 to 1850). As in the case of the kindred arts of metalware and -lacquer, any European influence was quite of a casual and what we may -call fanciful nature; while the new methods of decoration that came into -use in - -[Illustration: Plate XXV. - -_Japanese. Imari ware._] - -China in the eighteenth century were never recognised or copied, even if -they were known. What imitation there was of China was confined to the -copying of Ming types; the Manchus, in fact, were never acknowledged by -the Japanese, and their arts were under a taboo almost as strict as that -applied to the civilisation of the West. No better instance of this -conservatism could be given than the fact that the use of gold as a -source of a red pigment, the basis of the _famille rose_ in China, -appears to have been unknown until the beginning of the nineteenth -century, and even then the _rouge-d’or_ was but sparingly applied. On -the other hand, the Chinese were always eager, in the interest of trade, -to copy the wares exported from Nagasaki, and we shall see later on what -an influence the various products of the Hizen kilns had upon the -porcelain of Europe. - -These, then, were practically the only kinds of Japanese ceramic ware -known in Europe until the opening of the country in our days--the blue -and white or _sometsuke_, the ‘old Japan’ or _nishiki-de_, and the -peculiar type which we have classed as Kakiyemon. To this list we should -perhaps add the plain white ware, much of which was subsequently -decorated in Europe. - -These wares were all of them made in the kilns near Arita, nor do they -exhaust the products of even that district. But during the eighteenth -century the manufacture of porcelain spread to other parts of Japan -where porcelain was made exclusively for home consumption. Many of these -kilns were established under princely patronage, some in the very -gardens of the feudal lord, while a special interest is given to others -by their association with certain skilled potters and their descendants, -whose names, in opposition to what we found was the practice in China, -we can thus connect with the wares. - -But we will first say something about the composition and the processes -of manufacture of the porcelain of Japan, dwelling, however, only on -those few points where we find divergences from the practices obtaining -in China. - -In the first place, then, as to the composition of the paste. To judge -from the few trustworthy analyses of Imari ware that have been made, the -paste would seem to be of a very abnormal type; the amount of silica--70 -to 74 per cent.--is quite unusual; there is an almost total absence of -lime, so important a constituent of Chinese porcelain; while we find -from 4 to 5 per cent. of the alkalis. But, in place of the potash found -in the wares of China, in the Japanese paste the prevailing alkali is -invariably soda. - -The materials of the porcelain made in Hizen were obtained originally -from the famous ‘Hill of Springs‘--Idzumi Yama--which rises behind the -town of Arita. Of late years, however, large quantities of clay and -stone have been brought from the island of Amakusa, which lies to the -south. It is from the products of decomposition of a volcanic rock, a -kind of quartz-trachyte, that these materials are obtained, not from a -true granitic rock as in Owari[121] and in most other seats of porcelain -manufacture all over the world.[122] - -In the neighbourhood of Arita the raw materials lie conveniently at -hand; and in the Japanese accounts there is no definite reference to two -distinct elements in the constitution of the paste. However, that -something corresponding to our china-stone is made use of, is shown by -the importance attached to the methods by which the stone is reduced to -powder. The primitive stamping-mill, worked by a long lever of wood, -moved either by the foot of a coolie or by a simple hydraulic -arrangement, has long been employed for pounding the stone, and the -hills around Arita re-echo with the thuds of these mills. - -The potter’s wheel plays here a larger part than in China, and the -Japanese are exceptionally skilful throwers. Still, notwithstanding some -native statements to the contrary, the use of moulds either of wood or -of terra-cotta has long been known--witness the old Kakiyemon porcelain. - -We now come to the most important departure from the Chinese procedure. -In Japan, the ware (as is, indeed, universally the case in Europe) -receives a preliminary baking in a specially constructed biscuit kiln -before the application of the glaze. The adoption of this practice would -seem to point to a greater tenderness in the raw clay. - -The glaze (Japanese _kusuri_--‘medicine‘) is prepared by mixing the -finely powdered china-stone with the ashes of certain kinds of wood. The -ashes from the bark of the usu-tree (_Distylium racemosum_) are -especially in request for this purpose, and it is certainly remarkable -that these ashes contain nearly 40 per cent. of lime, the element that -is conspicuous by its absence from the paste. - -The furnaces in which the principal firing takes place are of a bee-hive -shape: they are arranged in rows of from five to ten hearths placed by -preference on the slope of a hill, so that each succeeding hearth rises -two or three feet above its neighbour. This plan is probably a -modification of the old Ming type of furnace, and the system, it is -said, was introduced from Korea. - -The use of seggars appears never to have become general, and this is -probably the reason why the marks of ‘crow’s-feet’ and other kinds of -struts, used to support the vessel in the kiln, are often conspicuous -on the base of the larger pieces. - -Neither in their glazes nor for their enamels have the Japanese ever -made use of any colours unknown to the Chinese, nor until quite recent -times have they paid much attention to single glazes. There is, however, -one important exception to this last statement, in the _Sei-ji_ or -celadon ware, which with them has always been the ideal of classical -perfection, and which they have imitated with varied success. For their -reds they have always been confined to pigments derived from iron, but -with these opaque intractable materials they have obtained a great -variety of effects, especially by means of delicate gradations of -strength. In the case of the blue under the glaze, the Japanese have -never attained to the mastery of their teachers: there is very commonly -a tendency of the colour to run, and a bluish tint is thereby given to -the white ground; the blue, moreover, on the older specimens, is -generally dull, and in modern times often crude and unpleasant. - -The shapes and uses of Japanese porcelain start, for the most part, from -Chinese models of Ming times, but there are a few forms that are not -found in China. The _hi-bachi_ or fire-bowl, though more commonly of -bronze, we sometimes find made of celadon or of blue and white -porcelain; the _kôrô_ or incense-burner, with a cover of pierced metal, -is a form characteristic of Japan; and the more elaborate _choshi-buro_ -or ‘clove-bath’ is, I think, peculiar to the country; so, too, are both -the _saké_-bottle of cylindrical or square section, with a curved lip -for pouring, and the little cups, in sets of three, often of egg-shell -ware, from which the _saké_ is drunk. The use of the miniature teapot, -in which the better sort of tea is infused, is again confined to Japan; -but these little _kibisho_, unlike the vessels for powdered tea used in -the _Cha-no-yu_, have not, I think, been long in fashion. - -We have described the three kinds of porcelain made in Hizen for -exportation to Europe, and we have seen that by the middle of the -seventeenth century this commerce, in the hands of the Dutch, and to -some extent of the Chinese, had already attained large proportions. -Before turning to the kilns that sprung up in other parts of Japan -during the eighteenth century--of these the origin in every case can be -traced back directly or indirectly to the early Hizen factories--we must -say a word about some other varieties of porcelain made in the same -neighbourhood, but not destined for foreign use. - -The village or town of Arita, of which the better-known Imari is the -port, lies about fifty miles to the north-east of Nagasaki, and it may -almost be regarded as the King-te-chen of Japan. The clay and -china-stone used there is now brought, for the most part, from the -adjacent islands, from Hirado, from Amakusa, and even from the more -remote Goto islands. By a combination of some of the most important -potters of the district, and with the assistance of some wealthy -merchants, a company, the _Koransha_, was formed some twenty-five years -ago,[123] and an attempt was made to keep up the quality of the -porcelain produced, at least from a technical point of view. It was -certainly time for some such effort to be made, for about that period, -just after the Philadelphia Exhibition, the arts of Japan reached -perhaps their nadir. - -MIKÔCHI OR HIRADO WARE.--It was with a somewhat similar object that, -long before this--about the middle of the eighteenth century--the feudal -lord of Hirado had taken some of the kilns near Arita under his -patronage, and had also attempted to regulate the wasteful and careless -way in which the materials were quarried on the slopes of Idzumi Yama. -This was the origin of the beautiful Mikôchi (_Mi-ka-uchi_) ware, which -was at first produced only for the use of the prince and of his friends, -or for presentation to the Shogun. - -To understand the important influence of this aristocratic patronage -upon the scattered kilns of Japan (only a few of these, indeed, produced -porcelain), I cannot do better than quote the words of Captain Brinkley, -perhaps our first authority on Japanese ceramics: ‘During the two -centuries that represent the golden age of Japanese ceramic art, that is -to say, from 1645 to 1845, every factory of any importance was under the -direct patronage either of the nobleman in whose fief it lay, or of some -wealthy amateur whose whole business in life was comprised in the -cultivation of the _Cha-no-yu_. The wares produced, if they did not -represent the independent efforts of artists seeking to achieve or -maintain celebrity, were undertaken in compliance with the orders of the -workman’s liege lord, or of some other exalted personage. Considerations -of cost were entirely set aside, no expenditure of time and toil were -deemed excessive, and the slightest blemish sufficed to secure the -condemnation of the piece.’ All these conditions were swept away by the -revolution of 1868 and by the opening of the country to foreigners. -‘Codes of subtle æsthetics and criticisms of exacting amateurs had no -longer to be considered, but in their stead the artist found himself -confronted by the Western market with all its elements of sordid haste -and superficial judgment.’ - -To return to the Mikôchi porcelain, this Hirado ware, for it was known -also by that name, produced at the prince’s kilns, six miles to the -south of Arita, was for more than a hundred years regarded as the _ne -plus ultra_ among Japanese porcelain, and its value was enhanced by the -fact that the ware never found its way into commerce. In the _sous -couverte_ blue it was sought to imitate the paler type of the old Ming -ware. The best-known examples of this blue decoration are seen on the -little cups delicately painted with Chinese boys at play under -pine-trees--the more the boys the better the ware, it is said. Careful -manipulation of the clay and finish of surface has never been carried to -a higher point than in the varieties of this porcelain worked with -pierced patterns and ornaments in relief, so prized by Japanese -collectors. On these we find, in addition to the blue, a peculiar tint -of pale brown. Of this coloured ware there are some good specimens at -South Kensington. - -ÔKÔCHI OR NABESHIMA WARE.--The same high technical finish has been -attained in the Ôkôchi porcelain made at the village of that name -(_Ô-kawa-uchi_) three miles to the north of Arita. The kilns here were -patronised by the Nabeshima princes, who belonged to one of the greatest -feudal families of old Japan. In this case also, the small highly -finished pieces were destined for presents only and were never sold. -This ware is generally to be identified by the comb-like pattern -(Japanese _Kushi-ki_), painted in blue round the base of the cups and -bowls.[124] Like the little Chinese boys of the Mikôchi ware, this -pattern is often seen on very inferior ware of quite modern manufacture. -A peculiar kind of finely crackled celadon was also made at Ôkôchi. - -In the Arita district are many other factories, some of which, as those -at Matsugawa, have at times produced excellent ware. Of most of these -private kilns, however, the chief outturn has always been confined to -the blue and white _sometsuke_ for domestic use. - - * * * * * - -We have now to follow the steps by which the knowledge of porcelain was -carried from the western island to other parts of Japan. We had better -pass at once to the Kioto kilns, for although the manufacture of -porcelain was not introduced at the old capital so early as at some -other places in the main island, yet the skill of its artist potters and -their connection with the imperial court led, in the course of the -eighteenth century, to the spread of their influence in every direction. - -Kioto was already in the sixteenth century the seat of more than one -ceramic industry, but it was not so much the problem of the materials -for a true porcelain, as the questions connected with the coloured -enamels lately brought over from the West, that excited the curiosity of -the Kioto potter at this time. The story goes that one Aoyama Koyemon (I -quote again from _The Chrysanthemum_, April 1883), who came to Kioto -from the porcelain district of Hizen, to obtain orders for the new -enamelled ware, allowed the secret of its manufacture to be wormed out -of him by a crafty Kioto dealer, and that for this breach of trust the -wretched ‘traveller’ was crucified by his liege lord on his return to -Arita. This occurred just before the death of the great ceramic artist -Ninsei (about 1660), and the old potter at once obtained the knowledge -of the new enamelling process from the above-mentioned crockery -merchant. This man, we should add--the dealer--is said to have gone mad -when he heard the dreadful fate of his friend Koyemon--a fate for which -he was in so large a measure responsible. Such stories as this, and -there are other similar ones in the annals of Japanese ceramics, call to -mind the adventures of the experts of the eighteenth century, who -trafficked with the German princes in the _arcana_ of the newly -introduced porcelain, but for these German experts the penalties for -breach of confidence were not of so severe a nature. - -Nomomura Ninsei is generally held to be the greatest ceramic artist that -Japan has produced. The decorated stoneware and pottery that he turned -out late in life may be regarded as the common source from which the -wares produced in the two main groups of kilns in the neighbourhood of -Kioto took their origin. With one of these groups, with the wares -produced in the factories around Awata, we are not concerned here, for -no porcelain was ever produced in that suburb of Kioto. But to the other -group of kilns, called after the beautiful temple of Kiyomidzu, to the -north of Kioto, belong some of the most artistic specimens of porcelain -in our collections. It was here that this somewhat uncongenial material -was forced for the first time to adapt itself to the fanciful genius of -the people. It was to this district that the great original artist -Kenzan, the brother of the still more famous Ogata Korin, came towards -the end of the seventeenth century. It is true that little of this -artist’s work is executed in a true porcelain, but his picturesque -signature, scrawled in black, is sometimes found on the so-called more -noble ware (PL. B. 21). Like his brother Korin, Kenzan obtained his -effects by the simplest means, sometimes by mere patches of colour -cunningly distributed over the surface. The work of both these men has -of late found many admirers and imitators in France. - -It was not till the beginning of the eighteenth century that we have any -definite record of the manufacture of porcelain in Kioto. About that -time Yeisen devoted himself to the imitation of Chinese celadon. If we -are to find any common note in the wares produced in the various Kioto -potteries, it would be in a certain studied rudeness both in shape and -decoration, the very opposite of the delicately finished products of the -Hizen kilns. The rare pieces of Ming porcelain with coloured decoration -were eagerly sought for and copied, not in a slavish way, but rather so -as to catch the spirit of their design. In fact these Japanese copies -might be made to throw some light on that rather obscure subject, the -origin of enamel decoration in China in the days of the later Ming -emperors. - -An apparently early class of Chinese enamelled ware, somewhat rudely -painted with a predominant iron red combined with a subordinate green, -was a great favourite with the Kioto potters, but we find also copies of -the Wan-li ‘pentad,’ the designs in this case sparely scattered over the -ground, generally in formal patterns of a textile type. The blue and -purple ware with ribbed _cloisons_ which the Japanese associate with -their mysterious land of Kochi was also in favour, but at Kioto, I -think, this ware was not copied in porcelain. So of the blue and white -made at this time at Kiyomidzu, it is distinguished from both the Hizen -and the Seto wares by a certain rudeness in the shape and decoration, a -character preserved by a great deal of the _sometsuke_ still made in -this district. - -Quite a different spirit was, however, brought in by Zengoro Riyozen, -the tenth descendant of a famous family of potters. This Zengoro was a -potter of universal genius, the foremost ceramic artist indeed of the -peaceful and luxurious period at the beginning of the nineteenth -century, when the Tokugawa Shogun at Tokiyo set an example of an -extravagant expenditure and brilliant display which was only too readily -followed at the courts of the great feudal nobles. In the art work of -that time, in spite of the unsurpassed perfection of execution and love -of gorgeous decoration, we can already trace the signs of a coming -decay. Zengoro, besides reviving with some success the deep sapphire -blue, _sous couverte_, of Ming times, succeeded in producing from an -iron-oxide a red ground which vied with the famous coral reds of the -previous century in China. But it was rather the Ming red, _sous -couverte_, that made from ‘powdered rubies of the West,’ that he -professed to copy. Over the red ground of his plates and little bowls he -painted his design in gold of the finest quality, and on the white -ground of the inside placed a scant decoration of his under-glaze -sapphire blue. Some of these dainty little cups are shown in a -table-case in the British Museum, but if we compare them with the -exquisite Ming bowls of a deep red derived from copper in the same -collection, the difference of the quality of the two tints is at once -apparent. As, however, it was a matter of _convenance_ to go back to a -Ming model, it was with the latter ware that Zengoro’s work was -compared. It was for his success in this kind of decoration (produced -about the years 1806-1817) that the great Kioto potter received from his -patron, the prince of Kishiu, a seal with the character _yeiraku_, or -reading in modern Chinese _Yung-lo_, the name of the Ming emperor -(1402-24) with whom the red copper glaze is traditionally associated -(PL. B. 22).[125] This, then, is the origin of the name _Yeiraku -kinrande_ for the ‘gold brocade’ ware of Zengoro. At a later time this -form of decoration was carried by Zengoro’s son to Kaga, where in a -debased form it became characteristic of a ware with which our markets -were at one time flooded. - -KISHIU WARE.--This _kinrande_, however, is not the only kind of -porcelain with which the name of this protean artist is associated. -Although the name Yeiraku given him by the Prince Nariyuki is generally -connected with his brilliant red and gold ware, it was a porcelain of -quite another kind that our Zengoro the tenth, or perhaps his son Hozen, -the eleventh of the family, turned out from the kilns that had been -erected by that prince in the garden (the _Ô-niwa_) of his palace near -Wakayama. The Japanese tell us that this well-known Ô-niwa or Kishiu -ware was made in imitation of a kind of porcelain or fayence brought -long ago from Kochi, a name generally rendered as Cochin-China, in any -case a country to the south of China. We have seen grounds for -associating this _Ô-niwa yaki_ rather with an early type of Chinese -polychrome ware, painted on the biscuit with glazes of three or perhaps -four colours. In any case, in the Japanese ware the turquoise, the -purple, and the straw-coloured yellow (this last quite subordinate) are -applied in a similar fashion, and this is indeed practically the only -Japanese ware on which we find the turquoise colour that has played so -important a part in other countries. It is here the most important -colour of the triad, but occasionally we find it replaced by a deep, -rich green. On this Kishiu or Ô-niwa ware, known also to the Japanese as -_Kairaku_ from another seal used by Zengoro (PL. B. 20), the decoration -is formed by ribs or lines which separate the surface into shallow -_cloisons_. In other cases the turquoise or the aubergine purple is -found alone as a monochrome glaze. - -Very few, however, of the large vases of this ware that have been -exported of late years to Europe, and especially to America (where the -turquoise blue has always been a favourite, as in the case of Chinese -porcelain), can have come from the kilns in the ‘prince’s garden.’ This -ware has, indeed, for some time since, been imitated at many other -places--at Tokiyo, and since 1870 especially at Kobe, where vast -quantities have been manufactured for exportation. These copies have -gone through the stages of degradation in design and colour that usually -accompany a large commercial production. - -Another famous potter, Mokubei, who worked at Kioto about the same time, -is said to have made great improvements in the moulds employed by him, -especially in those used for copying old Chinese pieces. But we -certainly cannot accept the statement that he was the first potter in -Japan to use moulds. This same Mokubei is said to have copied the richly -glazed stoneware of Kochi, a ware that had long been prized by the -Japanese, and to which, or rather to the kindred porcelain, we have -already referred. It is described as a hard pottery, with archaic -moulded decorations, coated with lustrous glazes of green, purple, -yellow, and golden-bronze. Mokubei also worked for the prince of Kishiu, -and it would be interesting to know what relation, if any, he had with -Zengoro and his Ô-niwa yaki.[126] - -SANDA CELADON.--The kilns set up at Sanda, a small town to the -north-west of Osaka, by the feudal lord of the district, have acquired -in Japan a great name on account of the celadon ware there made. This -_Sanda-seiji_ was first produced at the end of the seventeenth century, -and followed more closely the famous old heavy wares of Lung-chuan than -did the more delicately finished celadon porcelain made about the same -time at Ôkôchi in Hizen. In addition to these wares, the Japanese lay -claim to an ancient celadon of native manufacture, and much ink has been -spilt in Japan upon the question of the origin of certain archaic pieces -preserved in temples and private collections. The bulk of the Sanda -celadon, we should say, is a solid useful ware with small artistic -pretensions. - -THE WARES OF OWARI AND MINO.--If, leaving Kioto, we take the old -high-road to Yedo--the Tokaido--we pass through a succession of villages -where the local wares are displayed in the stalls lining the route. Some -of this pottery is not without merit, and historical associations give -interest to more than one variety. But it is not till we have passed -Nagoya, a large industrial town at the head of the Gulf of Owari, that -we enter a true porcelain district--the only district in Japan that has -vied with Hizen in the production of porcelain for domestic use and for -exportation. Not far off is the village of Seto, the home of Toshiro; it -was here that on his return from China, early in the thirteenth century, -he set up the first kiln that produced in Japan a ware with any claims -to artistic merit. But, as we have said at the beginning of this -chapter, the ware made by Toshiro was no true porcelain, although the -expression _Seto-mono_, derived from his native village, is used rather -for porcelain than for other kinds of pottery. The term is, in fact, -about equivalent to our word ‘china.’ - -It was not till nearly six hundred years after Toshiro’s day that the -village of Seto again became prominent, when in the year 1807 the art of -making porcelain was, after many difficulties, successfully introduced -from Hizen. This was thanks to the energy of the potter Tamakichi, who -ventured a journey to Hizen to find out the secrets of the manufacture. -As a reward for his services the privilege of wearing two swords and the -rights of a _samurai_ were granted to Tamakichi by the lord of Owari. -Here again we find the new industry established under the fostering care -of the local prince. - -Over a wide district, more especially to the east on the borders of the -province of Mikawa, the decomposing granite furnishes an excellent raw -material, and centres for the manufacture of porcelain have sprung up -sporadically over a tract stretching away to the north, as far as the -province of Mino. But most of these kilns have never produced anything -better than a common blue and white ware. - -In composition the paste of the Owari porcelain is much closer to the -normal type than that of the Hizen wares (see note, p. 190). Of late -years the Owari potters have succeeded in turning out pieces of -unprecedented size, in the shape especially of dishes and of slabs for -the tops of tables. From the artistic side, however, little can be said -in favour of this ware: the blue is generally crude in quality, often -resembling that found on the commoner European porcelain of later days. - -Another art was revived some years ago in the neighbourhood of Nagoya, -the chief town of this district--I mean that of enamelling in metallic -_cloisons_ (the _Shipô_, or ‘seven treasures’ of the Japanese), and of -late years the two industries have been combined by applying the -metallic _cloisons_ and the enamel to the surface of porcelain. A -similar ware has also been made at Kioto, but in this case the soft -fayence of Awata has been used as a base. Enormous quantities of both -these varieties of _cloisonné_ have been brought to Europe, and when we -consider the amount of skilled labour required in the manufacture, we -can only marvel at the prices for which this ware is retailed in London. - -Much of the cheap Japanese blue and white sold in Europe comes from this -Owari district, but of late years more ambitious things have been -attempted there--monochrome glazes of the _grand feu_, including a -curious variety of _flambé_ ware with a chocolate-coloured ground. - -KUTANI WARE.--There only remains one important centre of porcelain -manufacture for us to describe. This lies far away among the mountains -that skirt the western coast of Japan. The feudal lords of that country, -however, the princes of Kaga, were reputed to be the most wealthy of all -the daimios of Japan. A junior branch of this family, the lords of -Daichoji, as early as the first half of the seventeenth century -established a kiln at the mountain village of Kutani. In the year 1660 -an emissary was despatched to Hizen to spy out the land and learn what -he could of the new processes lately introduced there. The story of his -difficulties is only another version of that told of Tamakichi, the -Seto potter. After many adventures, abandoning the wife that he had been -forced to marry at Arita and the child he had had by her, he returned to -Kaga, equipped with the desired information and experience. He succeeded -in making a true porcelain with a white ground, decorated in a style -founded, it is said, both on the contemporary Hizen ware and on the -enamelled stoneware of Kochi. Morikaga, a famous artist of Kioto, was -retained to furnish designs for the decoration. We have in the British -Museum a spherical vase, painted in the five colours with a series of -spirited figures, which may well date from that time (PL. XXVI.). -Examples of this period are rare, but some of the old drug-pots, -jealously guarded by their owners, that were still, a few years ago, to -be seen in the druggists’ and herbalists’ shops of Osaka and Sakai, may -perhaps be traced back to the potters of the seventeenth century, either -those of Kaga or those of Hizen. At this time, in fact, the Kaga ware -had hardly differentiated itself from that of the parent province. It -was not till the beginning of the eighteenth century that the typical -Kutani ware, one of the most original and decorative ever turned out -from Japanese kilns, was produced. - -On a greyish paste, hardly to be reckoned as porcelain, the lustrous, -full-bodied enamels, almost unctuous in quality, are laid with a full -brush. The whole surface is generally covered, and a dark, juicy green -is the prevailing colour, over which a design of black lines is drawn. -Next in importance among the enamels there comes first purple, then a -heavy blue enamel which somewhat clashes with the other colours, and -finally a full-toned yellow. It would seem from Japanese accounts that -this kind of ware was not made after 1730, when there ensued a period of -decay, but it is difficult to believe the statement that the manufacture -was not revived till 1810. The picturesquely decorated bowls - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXVI._ JAPANESE, KAGA WARE] - -and plates showing the greyish ground are probably later than those -wholly covered with the green enamel, and it might be possible to trace -the date of introduction of fresh means of decoration--gilding skilfully -and boldly applied or the use of white enamel in relief, especially for -the petals of flowers. Later, but still on ware of fine decorative -effect, we find these white petals tinged with pink, and this apparently -is the earliest appearance of the _rouge d’or_ among Japanese enamels. - -When did this new colour come in, and from what source? We may perhaps -associate its first use with the wonderful period, early in the -nineteenth century, of which we have already spoken, when all the -restraints to which the Japanese artist had been so long subjected were -removed, the crabbed critic with his tradition of Ming times was -silenced, and a free rein at length given to native exuberance in the -use of gay colours and naturalistic designs. But this was the end; as in -the other arts, a period of decline set in before the middle of the -century, a decline that was accelerated, but not first originated, by -the throwing open of the country to European influences a few years -later. - -With the Kutani potter, the beginning of the end seems to have coincided -with the introduction of the iron-red and gold decoration. This was -brought about when the assistance of one of the Zengoro family, Zengoro -the eleventh or Hozen, probably, was obtained from Kioto. At the same -time the brilliant decoration in enamel colours was still carried on, -often enough with happy effect, and this was kept up to quite a late -period. In these latter days the use of a true white porcelain again -became prevalent--indeed the materials are at the present day brought -from Amakusa and other islands off the coast of Hizen. - -There are two marks that have always been associated with the Kaga -ware--first, the character for Kutani, the ‘Nine Valleys,’ the name of -the little mountain village where the ware was first made; second, the -Chinese word _Fu_ (Japanese _Fuku_), meaning ‘prosperity’ or ‘wealth,’ -written in the seal character. We find this last mark painted in black -on the back of the old pieces covered with a green glaze (PL. B. 23). - - * * * * * - -In our account of Japanese porcelain we have been hampered by the -restrictions imposed by our subject. Among Japanese ceramic products -there is a big middle class, what we have called kaolinic stoneware. -Wares of this kind, when made in neighbouring kilns and differing in -their decoration in no way from what may be classed as true -porcelain--and this is the case in the pottery districts of Kaga and -around Kioto--have naturally found their way within our limits. Other -kinds quite as near to true porcelain, such as the picturesque fayence -of Inuyama or many of the old Raku wares, have remained unmentioned. The -temptation to overstep the line has been great, inasmuch as so many of -the wares showing originality and real artistic merit lie distinctly on -the further side. - -We may say finally that a closer acquaintance with Japanese ceramics -will confirm what may be observed in the case of other branches of -Japanese art--in their painting, for example, and in their lacquer-ware. -I mean the important part played by the critic, using that term in a -wide sense, in restraining the native exuberance of the artist. The -first tendency of the European connoisseur is to regret the hampering -influence of Chinese tradition and the restrictions imposed upon all new -developments. But when these influences have for a time been removed, -the facile productiveness of the Japanese artist has always tended to -land him in that pretty and over-decorated style that has found its way -into middle-class drawing-rooms at home. We find a tendency to this -unrestrained decoration and reckless association of colours creeping -into favour long - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXVII._ JAPANESE, KAGA WARE] - -before the opening of the country. Indeed, centuries ago at Kioto, and -even perhaps in the old Nara days, a somewhat similar love of the -trifling and effeminate may be recognised now and again. The services -rendered by the severe traditions of the old Chinese schools of the Tang -and Sung dynasties, and by the ascetic spirit of the _Cha-no-yu_ in -keeping within bounds the native tendency to luxuriant overgrowth, must -not be overlooked. When these influences were removed, the arts soon ran -to seed. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -FROM EAST TO WEST - - -We have now followed the steps by which the dependants and the -neighbours of the ‘Middle Kingdom’ to the North, the East and the South, -acquired the essentially Chinese art of the manufacture of porcelain. -The next stage in our history brings us at one step to Europe. Before -making this stride of more than a thousand leagues from Japan to Central -Germany, it will be convenient to bring together some of the scattered -references to the porcelain of China that have been laboriously -disinterred from the works of the Arab and Christian writers of the -Middle Ages, and to compare these statements with the scant account of -the trade with Western lands to be found in the Chinese books of that -time. We shall then trace rapidly the history of the stages by which the -European nations became better acquainted with the porcelain of the Far -East so as finally to master the secret of the manufacture. - -For the earlier period we are dependent almost entirely upon Arab and -Chinese sources. The love of the marvellous, the spirit of Sindbad the -Sailor, has to be discounted in the first, and we have seen what -reservations we have to make in accepting the statements of the latter. - -There is no doubt that it is in the extraordinary development of trade -that followed the wave of Arab conquest in the seventh century that we -must find the first possibilities of direct communication with the Far -East. The great advance made by China in the early and palmy days of the -Tang dynasty (618-907) no doubt opened the way for this intercourse. At -that time China was in possession of a civilisation in many respects as -advanced as that to be found either at Constantinople or at Bagdad. - -As early as the year 700 of our era we find mention of a foreign -settlement at Canton, so that that town can claim a longer record than -any other Chinese port. But it was rather at Khanfu, as the Arabs called -Hangchow (or rather its port), the Kinsai of Marco Polo, that, in the -time of the next dynasty, the Sung (960-1279), the chief trade was -carried on. Thus we find that Edrisi, who wrote a work on geography -(_c._ 1153) for Roger, the Norman king of Sicily, is eloquent upon the -riches of this port of Khanfu and the neighbouring town Susak (perhaps -Suchow), ‘where they make an unequalled kind of porcelain called -_ghazar_ by the Chinese.’ - -At this time, though many Arab merchants were settled at the ports of -Canton, Zaitun, and Kinsai, the bulk of the commerce, it would seem, was -carried on in the larger and stronger junks of the Chinese, and the best -account that we have of the intercourse of China with foreign countries -is to be found in the report on external trade, written by Chao Ju-kua, -early in the thirteenth century.[127] This Chao was ‘inspector of -foreign shipping’ at Chüan-chou Fu, a town on the coast of Fukien, which -may perhaps be identified with the Zaitun of Marco Polo. In any case it -was, at that time, the principal starting-point for foreign commerce. We -have in his report a curious account of the trade with Bruni, on the -north-west coast of Borneo, an island with which the Chinese had -already had some intercourse for several centuries, and ‘green -porcelain’ is mentioned by him in the list of the merchandise there -imported. - -We need not dwell here on the well-known passion of the Dyaks of Borneo -for celadon porcelain, and the big prices that they are prepared to give -for fine old pieces (_Cf._ Bock, _The Head Hunters of Borneo_, p. 197 -_seq._). Of the specimens of celadon and other wares brought from this -island we shall speak shortly. Modern travellers tell us that the larger -jars, ‘decorated with lizards and serpents’ (probably the early -smooth-skinned dragon of the Chinese), are preserved as heirlooms. -Besides their medicinal value they are a complete protection from evil -spirits for the house in which they are stored. From later Chinese -writers (of the sixteenth century) we learn that these large jars were -used in Borneo in place of coffins, and it is a significant fact that a -similar mode of burial is still in use in Fukien, the district from -which these vessels were exported, but not elsewhere in China. - -To return to our Sung inspector of trade, as quoted by Dr. Hirth, Chao -tells us that at the ports of Cambodja, of Annam, and of Java, the -Chinese bartered both green and white porcelain against pepper and other -local products. But at that time the great emporium for the Western -trade was the port known to the Arabs as Sarbaya, the modern Palembang -in the island of Sumatra. Here, or at Lambri, in the same island, the -junks laid up for the winter, and in the spring the Chinese goods were -carried further west to Quilon, on the Malabar coast of the Deccan, this -time probably in Arab bottoms. The porcelain and the other Chinese -exports were now distributed to the various lands with which the Arabs -traded at that time. Chao Ju-kua, in this connection, mentions Guzerate, -and an island that most probably can be identified with Zanzibar. At -any rate, at this last spot fragments of celadon porcelain have been -discovered in recent days in association with Chinese ‘cash’ of the -tenth and eleventh centuries. - -There are scattered notices of this Sinico-Arab trade in the works of -Arab geographers and travellers, from Edrisi to Ibn Batuta. The last -writer, indeed, states that Chinese porcelain has found its way as far -west as Morocco. It was a happy idea of the Director of the -Ethnographical Museum, in the Zwinger at Dresden, to collect from every -available quarter specimens of Chinese porcelain with the object of -illustrating the wide distribution of the ware in early days, apart from -and mostly previous to that brought about by European agencies. In this -collection the heavy celadon or ‘martabani’ occupies, as we might -expect, a prominent place, but the later enamelled wares, including even -some special types that may be included under the _famille rose_ of the -eighteenth century, have been found both in Cairo and in Siam. Here we -see large, heavy celadon plates, with thick glaze of pea-soup colour, -from the Celebes, from Mindanoa and Luzon in the Philippine group, from -Ceram and from other islands of the further Indies. On some of these -plates the glaze covers the whole foot, and the unglazed ring, of deep -red colour, on the upper surface, points to a primitive method of -support in the kiln similar to that formerly in use in Siam. Other -celadon plates (there are some huge ones, nearly a yard in diameter, in -the collection), differing little from those found in these southern -islands, came on the one hand from Cairo, and on the other from Korea -and from Japan. From Korea there are also specimens of a curious -crackle-ware with brownish glaze and a rough decoration in blue, and -from Java a figure of Kwan-yin of a native type, covered with a pale, -almost white, celadon glaze. In the same collection we find plates -roughly decorated with red and green enamels, a style of decoration -which may perhaps be traced back to the earlier enamels of Ming times. -Examples of this type of ware--some at least appear to be of -porcelain--have been found both in the Philippines and in Ceylon. To -come down to more recent times, pieces decorated with large -peony-flowers, enamelled with an opaque white tinted by the _rouge -d’or_, on a bright green ground of leaves, come from the Celebes, from -Siam, and especially from Cairo.[128] - -At Gotha, in the public museum, is a collection of Chinese porcelain -brought together by the late Duke of Edinburgh. It is remarkable for the -number of fine pieces of early celadon that it contains. As the unique -collection of Lung-chuan, of Ko yao and of other Sung wares formed by -Dr. Hirth, is now comprised in it, this is probably the most important -assemblage of early Chinese porcelain in Europe. These two German -collections, in the Zwinger at Dresden and at Gotha, complement and -illustrate each other. But we have in England, scattered through our -different museums and private collections, the materials for a series of -at least equal interest--I mean as a commentary on the history of the -spread of Chinese porcelain over the world, a subject to which we must -now return. - -In the early days of the Ming dynasty the commercial expeditions of the -Chinese took on a more aggressive character. In the time of Yung-lo -(1402-25) the eunuch Chêng-ho sailed with a fleet as far as Ceylon, and -exacted homage, so the Chinese records say, from the king of that -island. In the next reign, that of Hsuan-te (1425-35), the same admiral -conducted a more peaceful expedition to Hormus, at the entrance of the -Persian Gulf, and in company with merchantmen from India, traded with -the ports of the Red Sea, from Aden as far up as Jeddah. Both in Ceylon -and at Jeddah (Tien-fong is perhaps rather Mecca itself) we find mention -of green porcelain among the goods imported, and at this last port the -Indian and Chinese merchants established their factories at the very -centre of the Mohammedan world. (I follow the extracts from the Ming -Annals given by Dr. Hirth.) - -Still more important was the trade with Hormus and other ports of the -Persian Gulf. We hear incidentally, at a later time, of a large fleet of -Chinese junks at anchor in these waters. To us the Chinese trade with -Persia is of special interest, for when, after a brief interval of -Portuguese rule, Hormus fell into our hands, it was in a measure through -the medium of the Persian ports, and of similar depôts and factories on -the Indian coast (as, for instance, Surat) that we in England obtained -our earliest specimens of Chinese porcelain. - -And now we must take up another thread of our inquiry and return to the -China of the thirteenth century, the China of Kublai Khan, the greatest -of the Mongol rulers, as described in the book of the Venetian traveller -Marco Polo. Here, in what is for us a classical passage, we find the -first known instance of the use of the word porcelain. Marco Polo has -been describing the wonders and riches of Zaitun, and he proceeds in his -inconsequent way--we will quote first from the old French text, probably -the earliest--‘Et sachiez que pres de ceste cité de Çayton a une autre -cité qui a nom Tiunguy, là où l’en fait moult d’escuelles et de -pourcelainnes qui sont moult belles. Et en nul autre port on n’en fait, -fors que en cestuy; et en y a l’en moult bon marchie’ (Pauthier, _Marco -Polo_, chapter clvi.). - -Translating from the later and more expanded Italian text, Colonel Yule -renders the corresponding passage as follows: ‘Let me tell you that -there is in this province a town called Tyunju, where they make vessels -of porcelain of all sizes, the finest that can be imagined. They make it -nowhere but in this city, and thence it is exported all over the world. -Here it is abundant and very cheap, insomuch that for a Venice groat you -can buy three dishes so fine that you could not imagine better.’ In the -still later version of Ramusio, printed at Venice in 1579, we find one -of the first mentions of the old fable that the porcelain earth was -allowed to weather for two generations before being used. (See Yule, -_Marco Polo_, vol. i. p. cxxii. and vol. ii. pp. 186 and 190.) - -Confining ourselves to the old French version, the point to bear in mind -is the use of the word ‘pourcelainnes’ in this sense as one familiar to -the reader and requiring no explanation. And yet in the two other -passages of Marco Polo’s book, where the word is found, it is used, and -here too without further explanation, for the Cowry shells (_Cypræa_) -that then, as now, took the place of money in certain markets of the -East. There can be little doubt that the ware of which Marco Polo spoke -was some kind of celadon, and Dr. Hirth’s identification of Tingui with -Lung-chuan is perhaps more plausible than the rival claims of Tekkwa and -King-te-chen. - -Ibn Batuta, the Arab traveller, who wrote nearly fifty years later, says -‘porcelain is made nowhere in China except in the cities of Zaitun and -Sinkalon (Canton).’ In this statement he is of course quite wide of the -mark. Like Marco Polo, however, he was struck by the cheapness of the -ware, and he mentions that it was exported as far as Maghreb (Morocco). - -These ‘moult belles pourcelainnes,’ Marco Polo tells us, were to be -found all over the world. He was probably speaking, as we have said, of -a celadon ware, though it is possible that he may have seen the pure -white translucent porcelain of Tingchou. Our first distinct notice of -porcelain out of China is indeed of earlier date. In an Arab manuscript -in the _Bibliothèque Nationale_, treating of the life and exploits of -Saladin, we are told that in the year 1171 that great Emir forwarded -from Cairo to his feudal lord Nureddin, Sultan of Damascus, a present of -forty pieces of Chinese porcelain, doubtless found among the treasures -of the recently conquered Fatimite caliphs of Egypt.[129] We have every -reason to believe that this store of porcelain, found in the palace of -the heretic caliphs of ‘Babylon,’ can have consisted of nothing else but -the much prized ‘martabani,’ of which such wonderful stories are told by -the Arab and Persian writers. - -The high estimation in which this ware was held in Persia at a later -date is well brought out in the following quotation from Chardin, who -was in Persia in 1672: ‘Everything in the king’s palace is of massive -gold or porcelain. There is a kind of green porcelain so precious that -one dish alone is worth 500 crowns. They say that this porcelain detects -poison by changing colour, but that is a fable.[130] Its price arises -from its beauty and the delicacy of its materials, which render it -transparent, though above two crowns in thickness.’ Again, in one of the -tales of the _Arabian Nights_, we hear of six old slaves who bring in a -salad in a huge basin of ‘martabani’ ware. - -Fragments of porcelain, the fine white paste covered with a greyish -green glaze, have been found in the rubbish-heaps both of Fostât or Old -Cairo and of Rha (the Rhages of the book of Tobit), near Teheran, and as -both these towns were abandoned at least as early as the thirteenth -century, a corresponding age has been claimed for the pot-sherds found -among the ruins.[131] We now know that a true celadon porcelain was made -in Siam, and this ware, there is little doubt, was shipped from the port -of Martabani.[132] But in spite of this fact, and of the evidence of the -name by which the ware was known, by far the larger part of the -porcelain used by the Arabs was probably a true Lung-chuan ware exported -from the ports of the Chinese coast, Kinsai, Zaitun, and Canton. - -The Memlook Sultans of Egypt encouraged commerce with the East. Makrisi -tells us that Kelaun received an embassy from Ceylon. During the -fourteenth century and later, the goods transhipped at Aden were carried -to the ports on the west coast of the Red Sea and then brought overland -to Assuan or to Koos, a town lower down the Nile, near to Koptos. Many -of the large dishes now to be seen in the museums of France and Germany -may have reached the West by this route, for among the presents that -the ‘Soldan’ of Egypt sent to Lorenzo de’ Medici in 1487, on the -occasion of an embassy (in addition to some sheep with long ears and -tails as big as their bodies), we find mention of ‘vasi grandi -porcellana mai più veduti simili ne meglio lavorati’ (Marryat, p. 240, -quoting a letter from Bibbiena to Clarice de’ Medici). Before this, in -1447, Charles VII. of France is said to have received from the same -source ‘trois escuelles de pourcelaine de Sinant,’ besides ‘_platz, -tongues verdes_’ (whatever they may be), and other vessels of the same -material. Again, in 1487 porcelain is mentioned in the maritime laws of -Barcelona among the exports from Egypt. In only one of these notices, -however, is the Chinese origin of the porcelain expressly stated, so -that in the other cases there remains a shadow of a doubt as to what -kind of ware is in question. For we must remember that the word -porcelain was at that time sometimes applied to Saracenic fayence. -Indeed in the old French inventories quoted by the Marquis de Laborde, -various kinds of shell-ware, such as frames inlaid with mother-of-pearl, -are referred to as porcelain. - -It is doubtful whether we can point to a single specimen of porcelain in -our European collections whose history can be traced back as far as the -year 1500, nor can any exception be made to this statement in favour of -anything to be found in the Treasury of St. Mark at Venice. With the -exception of one small doubtful piece, I have been unable to discover -any specimen of porcelain in that collection. As for the tradition -concerning the little plate at Dresden inlaid with garnets cut into -facettes--that it was brought back from the East by a crusader--I am -afraid that this must go the way of so many similar stories. I have had -an opportunity of examining this often-quoted example of early Chinese -porcelain, as well as a cup similarly inlaid in the same collection, -and I quite agree with Dr. Zimmermann, the Curator of the Museum, that -the setting can hardly be earlier than the sixteenth century, and that -there is nothing in the ware itself, a plain white Ting porcelain, to -point to a great age. - -There remains, then, the bowl of pale sea-green celadon, mounted in -silver gilt, preserved at New College, Oxford. This is known as the cup -of Archbishop Warham (1504-32): it is said to have been presented to the -college by that prelate, and the early date is confirmed by the style of -the mounting. It is at least a curious coincidence that this celadon -cup, the _doyen_, it would seem, of all the Chinese porcelain in Europe, -should prove to be a specimen of the ware first exported from -China.[133] - -M. de Laborde, in his glossary, quotes from the inventory of the goods -of Margaret of Austria, the Regent of the Low Countries during the -minority of her nephew, the future Emperor Charles V., the following -items among others: Un beau grand pot de pourcelaine bleue à deux -agneaux d’argent. Deux autres esguières d’une sorte de porcelayne bleue. -Ung beau gobelet de porcelayne blanche, à couvercle, painct à l’entour -de personnaiges d’hommes et femmes.’ - -An additional interest is given to this inventory of the possessions of -the Regent Margaret when we remember that it was of her brother that the -following story is told:--In the spring of 1506 Philip started from the -Netherlands for Spain, along with his wife Joanna, to claim for the -latter the crown of Castile, vacant by the death of the great Queen -Isabella. Driven by a storm into Weymouth Harbour, the pair were -entertained by Sir Thomas Trenchard, the High Sheriff of the county, at -his house not far from Dorchester. On leaving, Philip gave to his host -some bowls of Oriental porcelain. Two of these bowls of blue and white -ware remain in the possession of the representatives of the Trenchard -family. One of them is set in a silver gilt mounting of about 1550, with -a London hall-mark on the inside. On the outside of the bowl is a bold -floral decoration, and inside some quaint archaic fish, similar to those -on the Cheng-te bowl in the Salting collection. They have been lately -described by Mr. Winthrop in Gulland’s _Oriental China_, vol. ii. - -We have now come to a time when a new channel was opened by which the -porcelain and other produce of the Far East could reach Europe. In the -year 1517 Fernando Perez D’Andrada sailed from Malacca to the roads of -Canton, and the Portuguese not long after established some kind of -understanding with the Chinese, which permitted them to trade at that -port and at Ningpo. This arrangement, however, lasted but for a short -time. Some aggressive proceedings on the part of a new admiral sent out -from Portugal aroused the latent hostility of the Ming Government, and -the newcomers were before long confined to that ambiguous position at -Macao that they occupy to the present day. There does not seem to be any -direct evidence that porcelain formed part of the merchandise that they -at that time--I mean during the sixteenth century--sent back to Europe; -but after the end of the century, when Portugal and her colonies were -for a time absorbed in the vast empire ruled by Philip II. of Spain, a -considerable amount of the Oriental ware reached the Peninsula by way of -‘the Indies.’ Specimens of this old porcelain, chiefly of the plain -white that the Spanish have always preferred, may still be found, it is -said, in some of the royal palaces. - -The Portuguese in some measure took the place of the Arabs, whose -shipping they had driven out from the Indian seas, and it was now in -their ships that the Chinese porcelain was carried to the markets of -India and Persia. But by the end of the sixteenth century the -Portuguese, now sailing under the Spanish flag, began to feel the -rivalry of a new power that was destined before long to monopolise -nearly the whole trade of the Far East. In 1604, three ships bearing an -ambassador and his suite arrived at Canton. The Chinese were alarmed at -the singular aspect of these new people, ‘with blue eyes, red hair, and -feet one cubit and two-tenths long.’ The Dutch, however--for such these -newcomers were--effected little by this embassy, and it is indeed -difficult to understand, when we read of the troubled relations of -foreign nations with the fast sinking Ming rulers in those stormy days, -in what manner and by what route the porcelain that was now reaching the -markets of India, Persia, and somewhat later, of Europe, in such large -quantities, found its way out from China. After the establishment of the -new Manchu dynasty in 1644, the three southern provinces, including the -ports of the Canton river and of the Fukien coast, long remained in the -hands of the native Chinese admiral or pirate, so well known to -Europeans as Coxinga, and it was not till some years after the accession -of Kang-he that the imperial authority was established in these parts, -and the trade road re-opened with the newly rebuilt kilns of -King-te-chen.[134] - -The English at that time had not much direct intercourse with China. -What little reached us from that country seems to have been obtained -rather by piracy than by trade. In the days of Elizabeth, when a Spanish -merchantman or carrack was captured, next to the bullion there was -nothing that was more eagerly sought for than porcelain, both that which -might form part of the cargo and any pieces in use at the officers’ -table. As late as the year 1637, it was through the medium of the -Portuguese that the bulk of the English trade with China was carried on. -Meantime, however, we had established ourselves in the Persian Gulf, and -in the year 1623 we assisted Shah Abbas in driving the Portuguese out of -Hormus. We had at that time comparatively close relations with Persia, -and there was more than one English adventurer in the service of the -great Shah. There is some reason to believe that it was by way of our -factories or depôts on the Persian Gulf (especially the new -establishment at Gombroon,[135] on the mainland, opposite the island of -Hormus or Ormuz), as well as by those on the coast of India, that the -porcelain of China and Japan first reached England in any quantity. In -these commercial relations we may no doubt find one of the causes of the -confusion that so long existed with us between the wares of Persia, -India, and China. - -But Chinese porcelain, as well as Persian fayence, must have reached -England by another route--by way of Venice--and this at a somewhat -earlier date. To this connection of ‘china-ware’ with Venice there is -frequent reference in our Elizabethan literature. Florio in his _Italian -Dictionary_ (1598) interprets the word ‘china’ as ‘a Venus basin,’ and -‘china metal’ is explained by Minsheu in his _Spanish Dialogues_ (1599) -as ‘the fine dishes of earth painted such as are brought from Venice.’ -Here the reference probably is to Italian or Persian fayence--in fact -the tendency seems rather to have been to use the word ‘china’ for these -latter wares and to reserve the term ‘purslane’ or ‘porcelaine’ for the -true porcelain of the Far East. - -Indeed there is every likelihood that we may find the origin of our term -‘china,’ used vaguely for the better kinds of glazed ceramic wares,[136] -in the Persian word _chini_, which has long been employed for Chinese -porcelain and for the finer kinds of fayence, both in Persia and in -India. The point to bear in mind is that with our ancestors this word -had no direct connection with the Chinese empire, but rather with Venice -and with Persia. On the other hand, the special ware known as -‘purslane,’ as we have said, was by them connected especially with that -vague country known as ‘the East Indies.’ - -At the New Year, 1587-88, Elizabeth received from Burleigh a porringer -‘of white porselyn’ garnished with gold, and from Mr. Robert Cecil ‘a -cup of grene pursselyne.’ It was not until the beginning of the next -century, apparently, that porcelain, decorated with blue under the -glaze, was imported in any quantity. To this time we must assign the -four pieces of this ‘blue and white’ ware (one bearing the mark of -Wan-li) (PL. XXVIII.) long preserved at Burleigh House, the old home of -the senior branch of the Cecil family (see p. 85). - -By the middle of the seventeenth century Oriental porcelain had already -become an important article of commerce. At that time by far the larger -quantity was imported by the Dutch, and was distributed by them over -France and Germany. There is, however, some reason to believe that the -Portuguese continued to import certain classes of ware, but it is -difficult to - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXVIII._ CHINESE] - -find any direct evidence of this commerce.[137] As for the English -trade, porcelain is mentioned among the goods imported by the East India -Company as early as 1631. - -For the most part this porcelain exported from Canton or from Nagasaki -was not carried directly to Europe, but found its way first to various -intermediate _entrepôts_ of trade: in the case of the Dutch, to Batavia; -with us, to certain Indian ports, or perhaps to Gombroon. This was one -cause of the strange names by which the products of China and Japan were -known, and of the confusion between the wares of the two countries, -which has only been cleared up of late years. We hear of Batavian -porcelain, and of East Indian or _porcelaine des Indes_.[138] No doubt -this ambiguity of origin was encouraged by the rival traders, who were -not eager to make too public the source of their goods. - -As to the composition of the ‘purslayne’ brought from the Indies, the -wildest stories were current. Whether it was even of the same nature as -other kinds of pottery was disputed. Even so well-informed a man as Sir -Thomas Browne had his doubts. ‘We are not thoroughly resolved,’ he says, -‘concerning porcellane or china dishes, that according to common belief -they are made of earth.’ The quaint story of the clay being preserved -for long ages before it was fit for use, we find for the first time -apparently in some of the late versions of Marco Polo’s travels. From -Marryat, who collected a wealth of quotations[139] referring to -porcelain from writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, we -take as an example the following (it is from a book written by Guido -Pancirolli, a learned jurisconsult and antiquary of Padua, who died in -1599):--‘In former ages, porcelains were never seen. Now they are a -certain mass composed of gypsum, bruised eggs, the shell of the marine -locust [perhaps the _Langusta_ or Mediterranean lobster], and other -substances; and this, being well tempered and thickened, is hidden -underground in a secret place, which the father points out to his -children, etc.’ He then goes on to speak of the transparency of this -ware, and of its property of breaking when any poisonous substance was -placed in it. - -We must remember that by this time attempts had already been made in -Italy, both in Tuscany and probably still earlier in Venice, to imitate -the porcelain of China. These experiments were soon abandoned, but the -more practical Dutch, not long after this time, succeeded in making with -their enamelled earthenware an imitation of the finer Chinese blue and -white, closer to the original, as far as external aspect is concerned, -than anything that has been produced in Europe since that time in ware -of any description. The name of Albregt de Keizer (_circa_ 1661) it -would seem is to be associated with these excellent copies. There are -some brilliant specimens of this seventeenth century delft at South -Kensington, both in the Keramic Gallery and in the Salting collection. - -Early in the reign of Charles II., the fashion of drinking tea and -chocolate became fashionable, if not general, in England. Coffee had -been introduced somewhat earlier--it came from Turkey by way of Venice. -Along with these new infusions came the demand for the little cups from -which they were to be drunk, and for the pots in which to brew them. The -form and fashion of these came to us not from China but from Venice, -from Constantinople, and perhaps ultimately from Persia. One -consequence of this was that the confusion between the wares of the East -and of the Far East became for the time even greater. In the -drinking-song quoted on page 243, we find ‘tea-cups and coffee’ -associated with ‘the Turk and the Sophi,’ while not a word is said of -China. - -At the same time larger pieces, _garnitures de cheminée_, _pots -pourris_, and fish-bowls began to find a place in the decoration of a -nobleman’s house. Before the end of the century there came in a rage for -quaint monsters and figures of Chinese gods, at first chiefly in white -porcelain. Many such pieces may still be found on the mantels and in the -china-closets of our country houses, but unfortunately we have in few -cases any record of the date of acquisition or of the _provenance_ of -ware of this kind. - -At Hampton Court there is a quantity of old china now well displayed in -the rooms shown to the public. This is a collection that well repays a -close examination. Let us see first what it does _not_ contain. The -_famille rose_ is unrepresented. I do not think that the _rouge d’or_ -enamel is to be found on a single specimen. The ‘Old Japan’ or Imari is -not found, at least not in characteristic specimens. On the other hand -there are many interesting examples of Chinese enamelled ware which we -may class with the five-colour group (the blue of course _under_ the -glaze). They are roughly painted with figures in Ming costume, but in -these pieces the green is scarcely prominent enough to allow of our -placing them among the _famille verte_. They belong rather to that class -of late Wan-li or early Kang-he enamels which formed the starting-point -of the earliest enamelled wares of Imari and Kutani. Of the three-colour -glazes of the _demi grand feu_, I would point to two interesting vases, -about twelve inches in height, with a mottled decoration of green and -dark purple, and with yellow handles. There are quite a number of large -fish-bowls of blue and white, but these pieces are not remarkable either -for colour or design. Of more interest are two cylindrical vases -decorated, _sous couverte_, with blue and pale copper red, and a curious -vase of Persian shape covered with flowers in white slip over a _café au -lait_ ground. Again, the plain white figures of Quanyin, with the -‘Maintenon’ coif, and in some cases with the boy patron of learning at -the side, are here as abundant relatively as at Dresden, and there is -finally a well-executed figure of a Buddhist ascetic in white biscuit. -Unless it be by the blue and white, Japan is represented solely by the -‘Kakiyemon’ enamelled ware, with the blue _over the glaze_. - -But we must not pass over the little glazed cabinet filled with quaint -pieces of Chinese porcelain. The contents of this cabinet have, it is -said, remained untouched since the day, more than two hundred years ago, -when they were arranged by Queen Mary. Among many curious pieces on its -shelves may be seen two buffaloes of a pale celadon ware, four vases of -‘hookah-base’ form, with strange-shaped spouts, and some censers in the -form of kilins. - -The general impression, we may finally say, given by a somewhat close -inspection of the porcelain at Hampton Court, confirms the little we -know of the date of its origin. It represents a period anterior to the -great renaissance at King-te-chen at the end of the seventeenth century, -but only just anterior to that time, and it is the absence of the finer -and more brilliant wares made subsequently to this renaissance, examples -of which we are accustomed to see in our modern collections, that gives -a certain air of poverty to this porcelain collected by our ancestors. - -In some of the palaces and castles of Germany may still be seen -collections of china made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, -crowded together in the porcelain cabinet. Of these the best known, -perhaps, is that at the ‘Favorite,’ near Baden, but there are others in -the castle of the Waldstein family at Dux in Bohemia, and in Hungary in -the castle of Prince Esterhazy. Many of these collections have remained -unaltered since the time when they were first brought together, and it -is in this fact that their principal interest lies. - -These china-cabinets are, of course, all eclipsed by the vast collection -brought together, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, by -Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and (at intervals) King of -Poland. But this collection has undergone many vicissitudes since the -time when it was first established in the handsome palace in the -Neustadt at Dresden. It escaped, indeed, with little damage from the -Prussian cannons during the Seven Years’ War; at the end of the century, -however, it was removed to a gloomy basement, but so carelessly was this -done that we hear of whole chests packed with broken fragments. In this -ill-arranged and dark room the collection remained for nearly a century, -until at last it has found a home in the well-lit galleries of the -Johanneum. Here it is now seen to full advantage, thanks to an -arrangement which combines historical sequence with a regard to general -effect. - -Augustus the Strong died in 1733, and it is doubtful whether his -successor, August II. (August III. of Poland), who was above all a -collector of pictures, added to the collection.[140] There were, it -would seem, some examples of porcelain in the electoral collection at a -much earlier date.[141] In an inventory of 1640 several pieces of -porcelain are mentioned, and these are said to have been presented by -the _Herzog von Florentz_ in the year 1590. Among them (they cannot now -be identified) we find a vase of porcelain (_ein Pokal von Porcellana_), -blue and red with gilding, in the form of a crab; another in the form of -a dragon, coloured green and blue; a lantern of porcelain, green and -gold, adorned at the top with a standing figure; a small ‘pokal,’ gilt -and painted with all kinds of colours; and finally some large -eight-sided dishes decorated with blue. We should have expected to find -some examples of the new Medici porcelain along with these, but in the -inventory in question there is no mention of anything of the kind. - -Augustus the Strong obtained most of his porcelain from Dutch dealers--a -certain Le Roy at Amsterdam is specially mentioned. Already in 1709 we -find him lending eight statuettes of white Chinese ware to Böttger, then -engaged with his experiments on the Königstein. In the year 1717 he -received from the King of Prussia nearly a hundred important vases and -dishes. In return for these, it is said, the king obtained a regiment -(or company) of tall dragoons, but this part of the bargain is not -mentioned in the official receipt for the porcelain, which has been -preserved. - -I have more than once referred to individual specimens in this famous -collection, and I shall not attempt to describe it now. Suffice to say -that the general impression given is that it is of a somewhat later date -than that at Hampton Court. Apart from a few early pieces which have -been already mentioned, and from some specimens of the _famille rose_ -(and on these the new _rouge d’or_ is for the most part sparingly and, -as it were, tentatively applied), the coloured enamel ware in the -Dresden collection belongs in the bulk to the _famille verte_, and upon -intrinsic evidence might be attributed to the later years of Kang-he and -to the reign of his successor Yung-ching, say from 1690 to 1730. On the -Japanese side, we notice a number of dishes and vases in blue and white, -rather in the style of the later Ming ware exported to India and Persia, -a few choice specimens of the enamelled ‘Kakiyemon,’ and then the vast -series of ‘Old Japan’ or Imari porcelain--plates, vases, and bowls, many -of large size. Much of this last class was made to order, and this part -reflects the bad taste of the day. We find tall vases ‘adorned’ with -figures and flowers modelled in full relief in a kind of stucco and -gaudily painted with some oil medium or varnish. Some are converted into -cages for birds or squirrels by an external railing of brass rods. - -With the exception of a few fine _garnitures_ in blue and white in ‘’t -Huis ten Bosch’ at the Hague, there appear to be no public collections -in Holland dating from the eighteenth century. But in spite of the -repeated razzias of dealers, both native and foreign, many old families -still retain collections of Chinese porcelain (of blue and white -especially), some of which may date from the latter part of the -seventeenth century, and many a rough-looking farmer, in country -districts, prides himself on the china-cabinet that he has inherited -from his ancestors. - -Francis I. of France and his son Henri II. were, as is well known, great -collectors of works of art, and their collections at Fontainebleau may -be regarded as the foundation of the national museums of France. The -Rev. Père Dan, who described these collections at a later date, in his -_Trésors des Merveilles de Fontainebleau_ (1640) says--‘La étoient aussi -des vases et vaisselles en porcelaines de la Chine,’ and in an -eighteenth century notice we hear of a ‘vase de porcelaine de première -qualité ancienne de la Chine,’ which is said to have come from the -collection of Sully, the minister of Henri IV. In the second half of the -seventeenth century, at the great yearly fairs held in the -neighbourhood of Paris, Portuguese travelling merchants set up their -stalls for the sale of _les besognes de Chine_.[142] In 1678 the Duchess -of Cleveland’s porcelain was sold at the fair of St. Laurent. The -_Mercure_ of the day gives a list of the figures and mounted pieces. -Louis XIV., we are told, was surprised at the knowledge of Oriental -porcelain shown by James II. - -At the end of the seventeenth century it became the fashion among the -_grands Seigneurs_ of the court of Louis XIV. to collect the _porcelaine -des Indes_, the Dauphin and the Duke of Orleans leading the way, and -through the agency of the short-lived _Compagnie de la Chine_[143] -(1685-1719) the latter prince was able to obtain from the East vases -decorated with his arms,[144] while of the Dauphin we hear that he -arranged his collection of blue and white in cabinets constructed by the -famous ebonist Boule. Unfortunately the gallery at Versailles where they -were placed was burned down soon afterwards (Du Sartel, _La Porcelaine -de la Chine_, p. 121). The porcelain of these princely collectors was -sold at a later time, and most of it passed into the hands of the -Vicomte de Fonspertuis; it was again dispersed when the works of art in -that famous collection were sold by auction in 1747. The catalogue on -this occasion was prepared by Gersaint,[145] the great dealer of the -day, for whose shop on the Pont Notre-Dame Watteau painted his famous -_Enseigne_. The notes in this catalogue are of some interest, in that -they are, perhaps, the earliest attempt, at least from a Western point -of view, at a critical description of Oriental porcelain. We can only -call attention to the remarks of Gersaint on the new enamel colours, -which in opposition to the blue and white ‘_on voit seulement depuis -quelques années_’; on the white ware with its ‘_ton velouté, doux et -mat_,’ which he tells us Spanish collectors prefer to all others, and on -the figures, animals, and ornaments which the Dutch ‘_souvent mal à -propos_’ painted over the beautiful white ware of China. Gersaint -ridicules also the fashion that will have nothing to say to any piece -without the brown line upon the lip or edge, so characteristic of the -porcelain imported about this time, and finally he calls attention to -the excellent imitation of the ‘Ancien Japon,’ made _some time since_ at -Dresden. A few specimens of this Saxon ware are the only examples of -European pottery in this extensive and varied collection. - -Some twenty years later the collections of another friend and patron of -Watteau, M. de Jullienne, were sold by auction in the _Salon Carré_ of -the Louvre, and a detailed catalogue of the Oriental ware was drawn up -by the dealer Julliot. But for a more detailed account of the French -collections and collectors of the eighteenth century, we must refer the -reader to the chapter on this subject in M. Du Sartel’s already quoted -work. - -In the lengthy treatise of the Abbé Raynal on the history of the -_Commerce des Européens dans les Deux Indes_, there is an interesting -section treating of the porcelain of China and Japan, and of the -relation of these Oriental wares to the porcelain of Saxony and France. -The work was first published in 1770, but the remarks on porcelain were -probably written several years earlier. We have already noticed the six -classes into which he divides the wares imported from the East. We can -only note here that Raynal distinguishes the two classes of _porcelaine -blanche_--one of creamy tint, and the other cold and bluish. This ware, -he says, was imitated at Saint-Cloud, but with ‘frit’ and lead glaze. -His sympathies are all for the true porcelain of Dresden, and for the -ware lately made in France by the Count Lauraguais. - -We have attempted in this chapter, perhaps at too great a length for a -work of this kind, to follow the steps by which the knowledge and -appreciation of Oriental porcelain spread gradually through the West. It -will be our next task to show, as briefly as possible, how on the ground -thus prepared there arose on all sides a desire to imitate this -beautiful ware. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE FIRST ATTEMPTS AT IMITATION IN EUROPE - - -What, then, were the wares with which the porcelain of the Far East came -into competition, when during the course of the seventeenth century it -reached Europe in ever increasing quantity? It was not the ordinary -lead-glazed pottery, or the salt-glazed stoneware in common use, that -felt this competition. Crockery of this sort would always be protected -by its cheapness. The rivalry was rather with the more artistic ware -found on the tables of the richer sort of people, much of it made for -ornament only. Now at this time, ware of this latter kind all came under -the class of _enamelled fayence_--earthenware, that is, whose dull -surface was rendered bright and shining by a coating of stanniferous -enamel; on this artificial surface the decoration, often pre-eminent in -artistic merit, was painted. It is not our business here to show how -this great ceramic family of stanniferous enamelled ware, which had now -spread over Europe, had its origin in the nearer or Saracenic East, just -as the porcelain, which in a measure was destined to replace it, can all -be traced back to a Chinese source. Suffice to say that, starting from -the Moorish potteries of Spain, this enamelled fayence gradually -replaced the old lead-glazed slip ware of the Italian _quattrocento_, -and in the sixteenth century was carried by Italian workmen to France, -where important centres of manufacture were established at Rouen and at -Nevers. - -But it was rather the fayence of Delft, a ware of essentially the same -class as the last, and one which, during the seventeenth century, was -pushing its way into the markets of France and of England, that first -felt the competition of the porcelain now imported from the Far East. -The fact is that all these enamelled wares suffered from one great -defect. It was not so much their lack of translucency or the softness of -their paste that was at fault, but rather the fact that they made -pretence to be something better than they really were ‘at heart.’ -Compared to porcelain, they are as plated ware to real silver, and time -and wear are apt only too soon to reveal the base nature of their body. -Wherever the enamel is chipped off, the dirt lodges, and greasy matter -finds its way into the porous paste, causing a wide spreading stain. -This is a practical, and, we may also add, a hygienic defect, that is -now sometimes forgotten, the more so as nowadays our common table ware -is free from this fault, and resembles fine porcelain in so far that the -white, compact body is covered by nothing but the transparent glaze. In -fact, as far as European experience is concerned, we may say, broadly, -that the merits of porcelain compared with those of fayence are rather -of a practical than of an artistic nature.[146] - -It will be convenient to divide the history of European porcelain into -two periods. The first, with which we are alone concerned in this -chapter, deals with a time of isolated and tentative experiments. We are -concerned in Italy with the experiments of the Venetian alchemists which -form an introduction to the porcelain made by the Tuscan Grand-Duke; in -England with the early researches of Dr. Dwight and others; and finally, -in France with the more successful efforts of the potters of Rouen and -Saint-Cloud. The second period opens with the great discovery of Böttger -at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The porcelain made -subsequent to this may be divided conveniently into three groups: (1) -the true porcelain of Germany; (2) the artificial soft paste of France; -and (3) the so-called natural soft paste of England. These are the most -important types; and other wares such as the ‘mixed or hybrid pastes’ of -Italy and Spain, and the hard, true porcelains of England and France, -can be most conveniently treated in connection with the second and third -divisions. - -EARLY VENETIAN PORCELAIN.--Of all the cities of Europe we might, on -theoretical grounds, expect to find in Venice the place above all others -where the question of the composition of porcelain would at an early -date attract attention, and indeed, the evidence brought to light by the -Baron Davillier (_Les Origines de la Porcelaine en Europe_, 1882) and by -the late Sir William Drake (_Notes on Venetian Ceramics_, London, 1868, -privately printed) fully proves that more than one alchemist or -‘arcanist’ of that city, in one case as early as the fifteenth century, -produced specimens worthy to be called ‘_porcellane transparente e -vaghissime_,’ and this by contemporaries who had some opportunity of -seeing the real porcelain of China.[147] - -This ‘transparent and beautiful porcelain’ was made in 1470 by Master -Antonio, the alchemist, at his kiln by San Simeon, and the writer of a -notice that has been preserved sends two specimens of this ware to his -friend in Padua. Again, in 1518 we hear of ‘a new artifice not known -before in this illustrious city, to make all kinds of porcelain like to -the transparent wares of the Levant’; and a year later the ambassador of -the Duke Alfonso writes to his master at Ferrara, sending him specimens -of the _porcellana ficta_ made by a certain Caterino Zen, whom he has -persuaded to emigrate to the latter city. - -There cannot be the slightest doubt that in all these instances the -writers are referring to attempts at the manufacture of something -resembling, in its transparency at least, the porcelain of China. There -is no question of any confusion with the majolica of the day, with whose -properties these men were well acquainted, and we may therefore -reasonably regard the Venetian ‘archimisti’ as the first in Europe to -make a soft-paste porcelain. As in the case of later experimenters, -translucency, rather than hardness or refractory qualities, was the -point aimed at; and from the few hints we get as to the substances -employed, we may infer that these old ‘archimisti’ started with the idea -of combining the properties of glass and of fayence by mixing a ‘frit,’ -or glassy element, with various kinds of pure white clay. - -It is unfortunately true that we can point to no single existing -specimen of Italian porcelain that can safely be referred to so early a -date; but it must at the same time be remembered that it was only in the -year 1857 that the first piece of Medici porcelain was identified by -Signor Foresi, and that as late as 1859 a flask-shaped vase of this ware -was sold at the Hôtel Drouot as a specimen of Japanese porcelain! - -MEDICI PORCELAIN.--The first mention of this now well-known ware is -probably to be found in Vasari’s _Lives of the Painters_. It is in his -account of Bernardo Buontalenti, painter, sculptor, architect, and -mechanical genius, who, in all these capacities, - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXIX._ MEDICI, BLUE AND WHITE] - -was in great favour with Cosmo, the first Grand-Duke of Tuscany, and -still more with his son Francesco. ‘Bernardo,’ says Vasari, who was a -contemporary, ‘applies himself to everything, as may be seen by the -vases of porcelain which he has made in so short a time--vases which -have all the perfection of the most ancient and the most perfect.’ He -could make objects of all kinds in porcelain. ‘Of all these things our -prince [Francesco the Grand-Duke] possesses the methods of manufacture.’ - -Francesco Maria, the second Grand-Duke of Tuscany, was neither a good -prince nor a faithful husband. He was, however, by nature an -enthusiastic and patient experimenter, and a chemist after the manner of -the day. Soon after his accession, in 1576, the Venetian envoy writes of -him--I abbreviate here and there: ‘He has found the way to make the -porcelain of India; he has equalled them in transparence, in lightness, -and in delicacy. With the help of a Levantine he worked for more than -ten years, spoiling thousands of pieces, before producing perfect work. -He passes his whole day in his _casino_ [in the Boboli Gardens] -surrounded by alembics and filters, making, among other things, false -jewels, and fireworks.’ - -We learn also, from a contemporary manuscript, that the paste of this -porcelain was formed by mixing certain white earths from Siena and from -Vicenza with a frit, itself made from pounded rock crystal fused with -soda and glassmakers’ sand. The Vicenza clay, at all events, was -probably of a kaolinic nature. After shaping on the wheel and drying, -the decoration was painted on the raw paste, and the vessel subjected to -a preliminary firing; the plumbiferous glaze was then applied to the -biscuit. This Medici ware is decorated for the most part with cobalt -blue alone, but occasionally a little purple, and still more rarely -other colours are added. The design is made up of sprigs of -conventionalised flowers and leaves connected by fine stalks, -suggesting, on the whole, a Persian rather than a Chinese influence. In -a few cases we find the renaissance arabesques (or, more properly, -grotesques) of the time combined with masks in relief. The usual mark is -a hasty outline of the dome of the Cathedral of Florence, and below it -the letter F; on a few pieces, those especially which are decorated with -the grotesques, we find the six roundels, or ‘palle,’ of the Medici, -surmounted by the ducal coronet. A few pieces are dated. The earliest -date that has been discovered--1581--is on a bottle of square section, -rudely painted, under a crackle glaze, with the arms of Spain. - -As might be expected in the case of an experimental ware of amateurish -origin, the extant pieces differ much in technical merit. Some are -heavily moulded, with a rough decoration of dark blue (I refer to some -pieces now in the Louvre); while on others, as on the fine but damaged -bowl at South Kensington, a delicate design is carefully painted (PL. -XXX.). The ground, however, of this Medici porcelain is seldom of a pure -white, and the colours have a tendency to run. Now that the specimens -from the Davillier and Rothschild collections have found their way into -the Louvre, this ware is best represented in that gallery. There are, -however, several pieces at Sèvres, and some good examples at South -Kensington. The later history of this ware is obscure. The kilns appear -to have been removed to Pisa, and their existence cannot be traced later -than 1620. - -ROUEN PORCELAIN.--For a period of two generations and more after this -date it would seem that little was attempted. The vague assertions found -in patents taken out during this time in England and in France are of -slight value for us, for the claim is only made to an _imitation_ of the -Eastern ware, and such an expression might apply to many kinds of -enamelled fayence. - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXX._ MEDICI, BLUE AND WHITE] - -In France,[148] Claude Reverend, in 1664, is authorised to ‘_contrefaire -la porcelaine à la façon des Indes_.’ A more serious interest attaches -to the letters-patent granted in 1673 to Louis Poterat of Rouen. This -Poterat was a man of some position; he belonged to a family that had -long been connected with the manufacture of enamelled fayence at St. -Sever, near Rouen. In the diploma of 1673 facilities are granted him by -the king for making vessels of porcelain similar to those of China by -means of the secret process that he had discovered for manufacturing -‘_la véritable porcelaine de la Chine_.’ There exist certain little -pieces of soft-paste porcelain, sparely decorated with arabesques and -_lambrequins_ in blue _sous couverte_, in the style of Louis XIV., and -marked with the letters A.P. surmounted by a small star.[149] These are -now generally classed as Rouen ware of the time of Poterat; in that -case, we must see in them the earliest specimens of the French family of -_porcelaines tendres_. We have seen specimens at Sèvres and at Dresden, -in both cases little cylindrical boxes divided into compartments. A -similarly decorated cup, of very translucent ware, in the Fitzhenry -collection, is also attributed to Rouen. - -There were probably at this time and later many others, _arcanistes_ or -practical potters, working at the problem in France. M. Vogt quotes, -from the _Comptes des Bâtiments du Roi_ for 1682, two singular payments -for the transport of ‘terre de porcelaine’ from Le Havre to Rouen and -thence to Paris. This porcelain earth had, it is stated, been previously -shipped to Civita Vecchia. It has been suggested that this might refer -to a cargo of kaolin sent from the East (_La Porcelaine_, p. 34). - -In 1695 the king granted to the Chicoineau family the privilege of -making porcelain, by means of a secret process, reserving only the right -previously granted to Poterat of Rouen. - -With the establishment, however, of the Saint-Cloud kilns we pass out of -the stage of tentative experiment, and the porcelain of Saint-Cloud -forms the proper introduction to the soft-paste wares of France. - -EARLY EXPERIMENTS IN ENGLAND.--The potters art was at a very low ebb in -England in the seventeenth century. The Dutch with their Delft ware had -taken up a position comparable to that held by our Staffordshire potters -a century and a half later. They supplied us for many years with the -ordinary crockery in use among the middle classes (indeed, in parts of -Ireland such ware is still known as ‘delf’). From the scattered local -potteries were produced only the roughest kinds of earthenware. But in -this rude ware we see at times a certain barbaric, almost Oriental -feeling for colour and decoration, giving more promise of artistic -possibilities than we can find in the tame imitative work of the -eighteenth century porcelain maker. - -Quite early in the seventeenth century, however, certainly by the time -of Charles I., pottery works were established by the banks of the Thames -at Lambeth and elsewhere, where successful imitations of Delft were -made, probably with the assistance of Dutch workmen. Not far off, at -Fulham, Dr. John Dwight experimented upon various clays and glazes, in -the reign of Charles II. His is the earliest name that occurs in the -history of English ceramics. In the letters-patent granted to him in -1671, he claims that ‘at his own proper costs and charges he hath -invented and set up at Fulham ... several new manufactories.’ Not only -was he prepared to deal with ‘the misterie of the stoneware vulgarly -called Cologne ware,’ but he also lays claim to ‘the mysterie of -transparent earthenware, commonly knowne by the name of porcelaine or -china, and Persian ware.’ This claim is made even more definitely by his -friend Dr. Plot, in the _History of Oxfordshire_, which he published in -1677. Dr. Dwight, he tells us, ‘hath found ways to make an earth _white -and transparent as porcelane_, and not distinguishable from it by the -eye or by experiments which have been purposely made to try wherein they -disagree.’ - -We may compare this claim with the similar statements made about the -same time in the petitions of Poterat and others. In neither case is -there any sign of an acquaintance with the Chinese _materials_. In -France the aim was to make something that should combine the properties -of earthenware and glass; while in the case of Dr. Dwight’s ware, -hardness and infusibility were the points sought for. - -The portrait busts and statuettes in the British Museum, and a famous -piece at South Kensington, are all that remain of Dr. Dwight’s wares. -These were until lately in the hands of his descendants, and are, -therefore, thoroughly authenticated.[150] In the former collection are -two figures, a sportsman and a girl with two lambs, which in spirit and -sharpness of execution compare favourably with our later imitations of -Meissen porcelain in soft paste. A thin, apparently non-plumbiferous -glaze covers a white body, which is undoubtedly of great hardness and -possibly just translucent (‘approaching in some cases to translucency,’ -says the writer of the ‘Jermyn Street’ Catalogue). Unfortunately there -has survived nothing to illustrate his imitations of Chinese and Persian -ware. Dr. Dwight was a man of some social position, and a Master of -Arts of Christ Church, Oxford. The very considerable merit of his -stoneware figures (and we may add, the pathetic interest attaching to -the little figure of a dead child, at South Kensington, inscribed ‘Lydia -Dwight, dyed March 3rd, 1673’) have established his position as the -father of English ceramics, and on this ground he has found a place -along with Duesbury and Wedgwood in the _Dictionary of National -Biography_. For us his stoneware has a special interest. It is perhaps -the only ceramic ware in existence that has so many of the -characteristics of true porcelain--its hardness, its resistance to high -temperatures, and to some extent also its translucency and whiteness of -paste--but which in origin and chemical composition differs so entirely -from the normal type. - -Dr. Place of York was a contemporary of Dwight; he devoted much time to -experiments on various kinds of clay. Although he has some claim to rank -as an artistic potter, I do not think that there is any proof that he -ever made porcelain of either hard or soft paste. - -It is certainly remarkable that during the following fifty years and -more we hear nothing in England of any attempt to manufacture porcelain, -nor is there any patent or contemporary notice bearing on the subject -during the interval between Dr. Dwight’s specification of 1684 and the -date of Frye’s first patent. A claim to make porcelain by working up the -ground fragments of Oriental ware with some gummy materials is perhaps -the only exception. - -But in England, as elsewhere, the ‘ware of the Indies’ was coming more -and more into favour, and its partial victory over foreign and native -stoneware and pottery is, as we said above, closely connected with the -increasing popularity of tea and coffee. Sack and claret were still -served in bottles of Delft ware, and beer in stoneware jugs and -tankards. A certain suspicion of effeminacy and degeneracy came to be -associated both with tea and coffee, and with the ware in which they -were served.[151] Even now, any ridicule to which the china-collector is -exposed is generally associated with a teapot. - -We have in this chapter traced the early attempts made in Italy, as well -as those in France and England, to imitate the porcelain of the Far -East. We must now turn aside to Saxony, where, at the dawn of the -eighteenth century, the problem was solved by the genius of a poor -chemist’s assistant. We will then run rapidly through the many centres -where hard-paste porcelain was made in Germany, before returning to the -soft-paste wares of England and France. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -THE HARD-PASTE PORCELAIN OF GERMANY - - -BÖTTGER AND THE PORCELAIN OF MEISSEN - -We have already more than once come across the famous Elector of Saxony, -who found time, between his Polish wars and his innumerable amours, to -bring together the nucleus, at least, of more than one of the great -collections that have since his time attracted visitors to Dresden. In -the historical collections of the Johanneum and in the Grüne Gewölbe, we -find his name associated with many things of great beauty--arms and -armour, silver plate and jewellery; but still, even after making every -allowance for the strange taste of the time, the general impression of -the man which we get from the objects brought together by him is not -exactly that of a refined amateur. In fact, the German phase of the -school that had its origin in the Rome of Bernini and in the Versailles -of Louis XIV. found in the court of Augustus the Strong its true home. -Nowhere else can we find more characteristic examples of that mixture of -pomposity and childishness, that absence of all feeling for purity of -line, which distinguishes the German ‘rococo,’ than in these collections -and in the buildings that hold them. - -Now, it was under the direct patronage of this prince that the -manufacture of porcelain was first established in Europe, and what we -may call the taint of its original home has hung about the ware ever -since. Of the porcelain of Europe as a whole--and this is especially -true of the earlier and more interesting period--we may say that it -belongs to the rococo school, tempered now and again by a more or less -ill-understood imitation of Chinese and Japanese shapes and designs. - -Augustus collected works of art of nearly every kind, with the important -exception, indeed, of pictures and sculpture--these branches were at -this time comparatively neglected. But his heart was set, above all, -upon gathering to his new palace in the Neustadt, every fine specimen of -the Oriental porcelain that reached Europe. What more natural than that -he should be seized with the ambition of himself producing in his own -capital something that would rival the wares of China and Japan? No one -had better opportunities--if not himself in direct communication with -the East, his agents were in a position to glean and to bring to him -whatever meagre information about the manufacture of porcelain might -reach Europe. His court was a Catholic centre, and he must have taken -interest in the accounts of the industries of China sent home by the -Jesuit missionaries. The first of the famous letters of the Père -D’Entrecolles on the porcelain of King-te-chen is indeed of just too -late a date for us to think of it in this connection. By that time -(1712) Böttger was already making true porcelain. But what would seem -more probable than that other private letters, with valuable information -about the manufacture in which the Elector took so great an interest, -may have reached him a few years earlier? The Père D’Entrecolles, we -know, had already for several years previous to 1709 (the approximate -date of Böttger’s discovery) been living at Juchou, in the neighbourhood -of King-te-chen. - -When we consider the rapidity with which Böttger’s experiments were -brought to a successful issue, and compare this with the long and -fruitless research in other countries, it is impossible to resist a -suspicion of some such infiltration from Chinese sources, and this -suspicion is enhanced by the somewhat suspicious story of Böttger’s -career. But, on the other hand, no confirmation has, so far, been found -for any such theory. On the contrary, I understand that researches made -of late in the State archives of Saxony have rather tended to show that -some injustice has been done to Böttger in the common tradition; that we -must look upon him as a man of considerable scientific attainments for -his age and as a born experimenter, and it must also be remembered that -at that time no great distinction was made between the chemist and the -alchemist. - -Johann Friedrich Böttger was born in the year 1685 at Schleiz, in the -Voigtland, where his father had a charge connected with a local mint. He -was early apprenticed to an apothecary at Berlin, and here he was -initiated into the secrets of alchemy by no less a master--so at least -the story goes--than the Greek monk Lascaris, a man who is mentioned -with admiration by Leibnitz, and who is claimed as one of the ‘five -adepts.’ In 1701 Böttger fled from Berlin--it is not quite clear for -what reason--and placed himself under the protection of the Elector of -Saxony. At Dresden and, later on, the rock fortress of the Königstein, -he continued his search for the philosopher’s stone, and about this -time, probably in conjunction with the mathematician and physicist -Walther von Tschirnhaus, began making experiments upon clay--in search, -at first at least, of a refractory material for his crucibles. -Tschirnhaus had already been occupied with improvements in the -manufacture of glass in Saxony, and as early as the year 1699 had made -attempts to imitate Chinese porcelain.[152] - -In spite of an unsuccessful attempt at flight we find Böttger, in the -years 1705 to 1707, established in a laboratory in the old castle of -Meissen. Here, after another effort to escape, for which he narrowly -missed being hanged--at any rate so we are told--Böttger, when -experimenting on some red fireclay from the neighbourhood of Okrilla, -fell upon the famous red ware that resembles so closely the Chinese -‘boccaro.’ This was in 1707. The next year Tschirnhaus died, and by -1709, if we are to trust the statement of Steinbrück, the brother-in-law -of Böttger and his immediate successor, the latter had succeeded in -making a true white porcelain. - -Shortly before this time he had been working, in company with -Tschirnhaus, in a laboratory constructed for them on the Jungfern-Bastei -at Dresden, and it must have been about the time of the death of the -latter that the critical experiments were made that led to the -production of a white translucent paste. If this be so, it would seem -that it was, after all, at Dresden, and not at Meissen, that the first -true porcelain was made. It was not till the year 1710 that Böttger was -again removed to the old castle of Meissen, where the requisite secrecy -could be more effectually preserved. - -In any case, in the year 1709 Böttger was able to show some specimens of -a true porcelain--somewhat yellowish in tint, indeed--to the royal -commissioner, and at the Leipsic Fair in 1710 not only was the red ware -offered for sale for the first time, but a few specimens of the white -porcelain were on view. - -Soon after this we find Böttger established in the Albrechtsburg at -Meissen as administrator of the newly established porcelain works. Even -now he was little better than a prisoner, and in 1712 he requested the -elector-king to allow him to resign. He was consoled, however, by a -substantial present, and, so says one account, he was at the same time -ennobled--at any rate he was offered the title of Bergrath. But -Böttger’s extravagant way of life led to his being constantly in need of -money, and in the year 1716 he entertained proposals to sell his great -secret to a syndicate of Berlin merchants. In 1719, on the discovery of -this treachery, he was again imprisoned. In the same year Böttger died -at the age of thirty-four. To the end, it would appear, he held out -hopes to his master that he was on the way to success in his gold-making -experiments, and his brother-in-law, in a solemn memorial, asserted that -he was actually in the possession of the _lapis philosophorum_. How far -Böttger, in making these claims, was playing a double game in order to -obtain money from Augustus, it is impossible to say, but we must -remember that at the same time Tschirnhaus, a man of culture and high -intellectual attainments, was engaged in a search for the ‘universal -medicine.’ - -The red stoneware which was turned out already in 1708--it is now -generally known as Böttger ware--resembles closely the boccaro imported -at that time from China. Besides the red varieties, of two shades, there -is a third kind, in which the surface, as it comes from the kiln, has -been left untouched, and such pieces the Germans know as -_Eisen-porzellan_. It is wonderful what a number of forms and -applications Böttger was able to give to this stoneware during the short -period during which it was produced. Of the red ware some of the -carefully modelled pieces were polished on the lapidary’s wheel. A -child’s head at South Kensington is a good specimen of this polished -stoneware. In the Franks collection, now at Bethnal Green, is a -remarkable series of the different varieties of Böttger ware. A tankard -of polished marbled paste is marked with the year 1720, showing that the -stoneware continued to be manufactured for some time alongside of the -true white porcelain. _À propos_ of a beautiful little head of Apollo, -we are reminded in the catalogue that in 1711 there were sixty of these -_Apollo-köpfe_ in stock. They were priced, unpolished, at nine groschen, -or polished at sixteen. The difference, seven groschen, does not seem a -high charge for the labour and skill involved in this polishing. In -other cases the body is covered with a dark brown glaze, in which a -design is traced in incised lines, brought out by gold. This glazed -stoneware was afterwards imitated at Berlin and elsewhere in Germany. -There are some curious pieces at Dresden, which show that Böttger also -attempted, not very successfully, to apply enamelled colours over his -dark glazes. - -Not till the Easter Fair of 1713 was the white porcelain offered for -sale at Leipsic, and even then the specimens on sale were far from -faultless. Only in the year 1716--in the interval a new description of -white paste had been discovered--was the ware exhibited technically -perfect. - -Thus in the space of some eight years, Böttger had not only succeeded in -making an excellent imitation of the Chinese boccaro ware, of which the -special merit was to withstand rapid changes of temperature, but he had -once for all solved the great problem: he had produced a hard white -porcelain, which has remained since that day the type for the whole of -Europe.[153] - -Where, we may ask, did Böttger acquire the technical knowledge and the -practical experience, so essential in work of this kind? All the other -men who have made a name for themselves as breakers of new ground in the -art of the potter--Palissy, Poterat, Wedgwood, and to these we may add -the great Chinese superintendents at King-te-chen and the Japanese -artists Ninsei and Zengoro--were either working potters themselves or -directors of large factories. What opportunities had this youth--he was -only sixteen when he came to Dresden, and already, it would seem, ‘well -known to the police’--of acquiring the practical details of the kilns, -the mixing vats, and the wheel?[154] - -So again with regard to the materials he employed. Not much light has so -far been thrown on this point. We have a somewhat childish story about a -certain hair-powder--the _Schnorrische Erde_--which turned up at the -psychological moment and solved the question once for all. But porcelain -is not to be made from kaolin alone. That is only the skeleton, as the -Chinese say. We must find also the right kind of flesh to make the bones -hang together. No mention, however, is made in the current narrative of -any experiments on felspathic rocks. We know at least that this famous -‘hair-powder’ was a very pure white kaolin, found at Aue, near -Schneeberg, in the Erzgebirge, and that china-clay from this source was -the principal ingredient in the earliest porcelain produced. So in later -accounts we find mention merely of different qualities of kaolin from -Aue, from Seilitz, and other sources.[155] A few years ago the Meissen -paste, it is stated, was composed of kaolin from three different -sources 72 per cent., of ‘felspar’ 26 per cent., and of old clay worked -up again 2 per cent. In this and in most other cases where felspar is -mentioned as a constituent of a porcelain paste, we must probably -understand some kind of petuntse or china-stone containing quartz and -perhaps other minerals in addition to the felspar. The following figures -show the composition of the paste at the beginning of the last century: -silica 59 per cent., alumina 36 per cent., and potash 3 per cent. The -glaze was at that time composed of calcined quartz 37 per cent., Seilitz -kaolin 37 per cent., limestone 17·5 per cent., and porcelain pot-sherds -8·5 per cent. From this it will be seen that the Meissen porcelain is of -a somewhat ‘severe’ type. To judge from its composition it must require -a high temperature in firing; on the other hand, the paste should -possess considerable plastic qualities. The absence of lime from the -paste and its presence in considerable quantity in the glaze is a point -of interest. In this, the Saxon ware resembles the porcelain that is -made in the Owari district of Japan. At Sèvres, on the other hand, we -shall see that the glaze of the hard porcelain contains no lime, while -that substance is an essential constituent in the paste. - -The Meissen porcelain, and indeed the German porcelains generally, form -a typically hard and refractory group. But they have in a full measure -_les défauts de leurs qualités_. Among them we may look in vain for that -blending of the glaze and body that gives to the best Chinese porcelain -a surface like that of polished marble; still less do we find in the -enamel decoration the brilliancy and transparence of Oriental wares. In -place of this we see a chalky surface of a cold, neutral tone, over -which is painted, in dull opaque tints, elaborately executed pictures -that look often as if they had been _stuck on_ as an afterthought. -Apart from the influence of the taste of the time, and the general -absence of the colour sense among the German race, this dulness and -opacity is the result of the high temperature required in the -muffle-stove to enable the coloured enamels to adhere to the refractory -glaze beneath them. As a consequence of this the choice of colours is -limited, and even the enamels that are available never become thoroughly -incorporated with the glaze. - -To return to the porcelain made by Böttger in the few remaining years of -his life, it is surprising in what a number of directions we find him -making experiments; for indeed all the many varieties of porcelain made -during his lifetime may be classed together as experimental. It is only -in the museum at Dresden that we can study this interesting period. The -moulds that had been used for the red stoneware served at first for the -new porcelain. The ornaments in relief were modelled by hand and laid on -the surface. Böttger attempted at one time to replace the enamel -colours, so difficult to use with effect, by employing a kind of lacquer -or mastic as a vehicle. His greatest triumph in this department was the -so-called mother-of-pearl glaze, a thin wash of rosy purple with a -slight lustre,[156] and this he combined with a free use of metallic -gold and silver. The plain white of the Chinese was copied closely, but -the early attempts at the decoration with blue _sous couverte_ were -strikingly unsuccessful. The larger pieces made at this, and even later -times, have generally suffered from overfiring or from imperfect support -in the kiln, and would now be regarded as ‘wasters.’ - -After the death of Böttger in 1719 there follows an intermediate period, -still in a measure experimental, during which the factory was under the -charge of four - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXXI._ MEISSEN, COLOURED ENAMELS] - -commissioners. The blue and white of the Chinese was imitated, but not -very skilfully. They were more successful with the _café au lait_ glaze, -which at that time was in great favour. - -It is to the Viennese painter, Johann Gregorius Herold, or Höroldt (_b._ -1696; 1720-65 at Meissen), that the credit must be given of establishing -a definite school of decoration. He began, however, with the imitation -of Oriental designs. At this time the Japanese Kakiyemon ware (both the -paste and the pattern) was closely copied. The blue and white with -Chinese designs was at length more successful, and now the _poudré_ blue -and other monochrome grounds of the Chinese were also imitated. On the -other hand, to this time (1730-40) also belong the earliest armorial -dinner-services--those with the arms of Saxony and Poland for the -electoral court, and more than one set with the arms of the Count Brühl -for that pomp-loving nobleman.[157] - -A new direction was given to the manufacture soon after the appointment -(in 1731) of Johann Joachim Kändler (1706-1775) to the place of chief -modeller. He it was that, abandoning the clumsy imitations of Chinese -gods and monsters, first recognised the capabilities of porcelain as a -material for those little statuettes and groups of figures that we have -since that time come to associate above all else with the European -porcelain of the eighteenth century, and especially with that of -Germany. The subjects were taken partly from the social life of the day. -In part also they carried on the tradition of the ‘Italian comedy’ and -of the conventional pastoral life that we find in the French art of a -somewhat earlier date. The pictures of Watteau and Lancret were much -sought after at that time by the princely collectors in Germany, and a -few choice works of these artists, as well as many somewhat muddy -copies and imitations of native origin, may be seen in the gallery at -Dresden. - -The plastic qualities and the infusibility of the paste, together with -the thinness of the coat of glaze, enabled the artist to obtain a -clearer and sharper reproduction of his model than was ever possible -with the soft pastes and the thick lead glazes of the English -imitations.[158] The best of these little figures, however, belong to -rather later times, for during the last years of Augustus the Strong -(he died in 1733) Kändler was occupied with more ambitious -commissions--life-sized figures of the twelve apostles, an equestrian -statue of the king, and figures of animals, to decorate the new rooms of -the Japanese palace. But these attempts to employ porcelain as a -material for monumental sculpture (in the style of Bernini) ended in -failure. There is at South Kensington a series of figures in plain -white, dating from this period, apparently destined to form part of a -small fountain, and from these a very good idea of this application of -the ware can be formed. - -It was about this time, or a little earlier, that the passion for -porcelain flowers, generally in plain white ware, spread through Europe. -These or similar ornaments were even fastened to ladies’ -dresses,--witness the _gros papillons en porcelaine de Saxe_, which we -hear of as sewed on to the state-dress of a French _marquise_. This was -the ware that it paid best to manufacture, both here and at Saint-Cloud -and Vincennes. Porcelain flowers were applied at a later time to the -whole surface of a vase. These ‘Schneeballen vasen,’ as they are called -in Germany, were even reproduced at King-te-chen for exportation to -Europe.[159] - -With the employment of professional artists--flower-painters, -landscape-painters, and painters of _genre_ scenes--to adorn the surface -of the already glazed ware with miniature pictures, a style of -decoration came in, if decoration it can be called, which became more -and more the dominant note of European porcelain during the next hundred -years. The flower-painter came first with realistic, well-shaded little -nosegays, in the style of the Dutch painters of the day; then -landscapes, views of real towns, sometimes in a purple-red monochrome, -and surrounded by a gold rococo frame to imitate that of an oil picture. -The free use of gold, however, in the European porcelain of this time, -was to some extent a saving point. It helped, as gold always does, to -pull together the decoration. On the earlier Meissen ware the gold is -most solidly applied and has worn well. - -The palmy days of the Meissen factory, when seven hundred workmen were -employed and large profits made, came to an end with the Seven Years’ -War. Frederick, in 1759 and again in 1761, looted the Albrechtsburg and -carried away to Berlin the models and moulds as well as many choice -pieces of porcelain. The rest of the stock was sold by auction, and the -archives of the works were at the same time destroyed. - -It was about this time that the most violent of the several porcelain -fevers that distinguished the eighteenth century was raging, and the -period of the Seven Years’ War may be regarded as the culminating epoch -in the history of European porcelain. Both at Sèvres, and with us in -England, this is certainly the case. But at Meissen the best had already -been produced; the _vieille saxe_ of our ancestors is a product of an -earlier period--the thirties, the forties, and the early fifties. During -the decade succeeding the close of the war there was little falling off -in France and England. At Meissen, however, there now followed a period -of decline both artistic and financial. We find a ‘professor of -painting,’ one Dietrich, at the head of a ‘school of design,’ and he -seems to have been the most prominent man associated with the works at -the time. Such an association is a sure sign of the wrong direction now -being given to the manufacture. There was some fitful revival later in -the century, after the appointment of Count Marcolini to the direction. -He was an active minister of the last elector and first king of -Saxony--Frederick Augustus the Just--and he held the post of director at -Meissen for more than forty years (1774-1815). Marcolini’s name is -associated with certain changes of style which in the main reflected the -various phases of a taste, or rather fashion, which took its watchword -from Paris. - -There are indeed two main divisions of this later period: during the -first, sentimental _motifs_ and an affectation of domestic simplicity -prevailed; the second period was more especially the time when classical -models were followed, and it culminated in the _Empire_ style. The first -phase is represented in Saxony by the works of the French sculptor -Acier; in the later classical time the fashion came in of copying -antique sculpture in white biscuit. - -The Marcolini period is the last that has any interest for us. It was -commercially at least a time of decline. It is said that Josiah -Wedgwood, when he visited the factory at Meissen in the year 1790, -offered to run it as a speculation of his own, paying a rental of £3000 -to the king. The marvel is that the manufacture survived the troubles -of the Napoleonic wars when Saxony suffered so much. - -During the nineteenth century Meissen has followed more or less in the -wake of Sèvres. Huge pieces were produced for presentation, heavily -painted with copies of famous pictures in the Dresden Gallery, or -adorned with frieze-like bands in monochrome, in imitation of ancient -sculpture. During the same time, imitations of the _vieille saxe_, the -marks included, were made with some success, and much cheap ware has -been manufactured for the market, so that commercially the Meissen works -have for some time had a flourishing career. The change that has come -over Sèvres of late, the search after new methods, both in the -composition of the paste and in the decoration, has not, I think, been -reflected to any extent at Meissen, nor has the scientific side of the -potter’s art been illustrated by any works such as those of Brongniart -and Salvétat. Indeed the old traditions of secrecy have been maintained -in a measure up to the present day. It was only in 1863 that the -porcelain factory was removed from the castle rock at Meissen, where it -had been carried on for a century and a half, to a more roomy and -convenient position in the neighbourhood. - -The well-known mark of the two swords (PL. C. 27) cannot be traced by -means of dated specimens further back than the year 1726. This mark had -its origin in the privilege claimed by the Saxon electors of carrying -the two imperial swords before the Emperor at his coronation. On the -earliest pieces we find either the letters A. R. in blue (PL. C. 26), or -else a roughly painted caduceus, or rather rod of Æsculapius (PL. C. -25), the first on ware for court use, the second on that made for the -market. An incised mark cut with the wheel across the two swords is said -to indicate the ware that was sold undecorated, generally pieces with -some slight defect. We may note that a similar practice was at one time -in use at Sèvres. The addition of a star to the swords indicates the -Marcolini period. These eighteenth century marks, however, were copied -not only in England and by private firms in Germany, but also on the -imitation of the _vieille saxe_ made in the last century at the royal -works at Meissen, so that their presence on a piece of china is of -little value in identifying the date or place of origin. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE HARD-PASTE PORCELAIN OF GERMANY--(_continued_). - -VIENNA--BERLIN--HÖCHST--FÜRSTENBERG--LUDWIGSBURG-- -NYMPHENBURG--FRANKENTHAL--FULDA--STRASSBURG. - - -THE HARD AND SOFT PASTES OF SWITZERLAND, HUNGARY, HOLLAND, SWEDEN, -DENMARK, AND RUSSIA. - - -In spite of the elaborate precautions that were taken--the oaths of -secrecy, the military guards that accompanied the relays of china-clay -to the fortress at Meissen in which the works were established--by the -middle of the eighteenth century, at nearly all the courts of Germany, -imperial, royal, or serene, we find a porcelain manufactory already in -full work. It was the fashion of the day, and took its place, like the -opera company or the stud, in the equipment of an up-to-date -_Residenz-Stadt_. Only one or two of these princely factories survived -the time of turmoil at the end of the century and the Napoleonic -invasions. In no single one of the works can we find that any fresh line -was struck out or any important improvement made either in technique or -in design. The products of these different factories are often to be -distinguished only by the marks they bear, and these marks are as often -as not forgeries. We shall therefore confine ourselves to a somewhat -summary description, pointing out especially the relations of the -different centres to one another. The starting of a new manufactory -generally depended upon the successful bribing of some official or -foreman of works: at the beginning such aid was sought from Meissen, -but later on the assistance came from Vienna or from Höchst, so that on -this ground the relation of the works to one another might be -represented by a rough kind of genealogical tree. - - -VIENNA.--The beginnings of the factory at Vienna were humble. Claude du -Paquier, a Dutch adventurer, took out a patent for making porcelain in -1718, and with the aid of an enameller and gilder from Meissen, one -Hunger, a man with some knowledge of chemistry, carried on the work on a -modest scale, until in 1744 his factory and his secrets were bought by -Maria Theresa for 45,000 gulden. The Viennese porcelain was henceforth, -until the extinction of the industry in 1864, marked with the Hapsburg -shield, generally in blue, under the glaze (PL. C. 28), with the -addition, after 1784, of a contracted year-mark. - -So long as the kaolin from Passau was employed the paste was inferior to -that of Meissen and Berlin, but in later days a better material was -obtained from Bohemia. The most flourishing period was from 1770 to -1790, and in 1780, we are told, there were three hundred and twenty men -employed. In early years the porcelain did not differ much from that of -Dresden, but in 1784, when Conrad von Sorgenthal became director, a new -style was introduced which has made the Viennese in some respects the -typical ware of a bad period. Much attention was paid to the gilding and -to the pigments employed, and the surface of the porcelain was covered -by an elaborate and often gaudy decoration. We are, however, informed by -an eminent German authority that ‘from 1785 to 1815 the Viennese -porcelain among all the manufactures of the time took, from an artistic -point of view, the highest rank’ (Jaennicke, _Keramic_, Stuttgart, -1879). It is in any case remarkable that, during a period of disastrous -war and foreign occupation, so much bad porcelain and good music should -have been produced at Vienna. It was at this time that the chemist -Leithner obtained, for the first time, an intense black from uranium and -perfected the process by which platinum is applied in low relief. - -To the same chemist we must also attribute another speciality of the -Viennese porcelain of this time,--the decoration with designs in -polished gold upon a dead ground of the same metal. There are some -elaborately decorated plates at South Kensington which well illustrate -the merits or demerits of this ware. In spite of the early foundation of -the factory, the Viennese porcelain, as a whole, falls into the later -‘sentimental to classical’ period, that contemporary with Marcolini at -Meissen and with the earlier hard paste of Sèvres. The historical -development of the ware is well illustrated in the Industrial Museum at -Vienna, and it may be acknowledged that some success was obtained with -small figures and even life-sized busts. A good deal of cheap and -meretricious stuff made in the numerous private kilns in and around -Vienna in the latter half of the nineteenth century has lately found its -way into the English market. - - -BERLIN.--The porcelain of Berlin is of some interest to us for two -reasons, one historical and the other of a technical nature. On the one -hand it was thanks to the fostering care of the great Frederick that the -factory first assumed any importance, and on the other it was the great -attention given in later days to choice of materials (together with the -refractory nature of the paste) that led to this pure white ware being -employed above all others in the laboratory of the chemist. As at -Vienna, the origin of the works was humble, and in this case one perhaps -might even say ‘shady,’ if we are to believe the story that it was the -workmen who had stolen from the pocket of Ringler, the arcanist of -Höchst, the papers containing his recipes and private notes, who were -engaged in 1750 by the merchant Wegeli, the first to set up a kiln for -porcelain at Berlin.[160] - -The ware that Wegeli made is not important. We find little figures and -groups in imitation of Kändler as well as cups and teapots decorated in -blue, _sous couverte_, with little sprigs; his mark, a W., has -unfortunately been used at other factories. It was indeed rather the -banker Gotzkowski who was the practical founder of the Berlin works, for -Wegeli had abandoned his enterprise at the commencement of the Seven -Years’ War. - -German writers are not agreed as to what share should be given to the -king in the removal of the staff and workmen of the Meissen works to -Berlin in 1761. Frederick at that time was hard pressed by his enemies -and in great want of money; in the letter, quoted below, he writes that -he has nothing left but his honour, his coat, his sword, and _his -porcelain_. He has been accused of forcibly removing to Berlin, not only -the workmen, but the artists also and other members of the staff at -Meissen. On the other hand, it is claimed that the removal was -voluntary, and brought about by the offers of good pay made by -Gotzkowski. Frederick at that time had other things to do,[161] and it -was not till the close of the war in 1763 that he purchased -Gotzkowski’s new works for a large sum. He now had leisure to take a -personal interest in the manufacture. About this time the kaolin which -had been previously brought from Passau, in Bavaria, was obtained, of -better quality, from the quarries near Halle which still supply the -Berlin works. The sale of the porcelain was forced with true Prussian -energy: its purchase was obligatory for lottery prizes, to the amount of -10,000 thalers every year, and no Jew could obtain a marriage -certificate except on the production of the receipt for the purchase of -a service of porcelain. It is for this reason that the Berlin ware is in -Germany sometimes known as _Juden porcellan_. Grieninger, a Saxon, was -the practical manager of the works from the time of their foundation by -Gotzkowski to the end of the century. During this period the porcelain -produced differed little from that previously made at Meissen. A shade -of pink, derived from the purple of Cassius, was much admired by -Frederick, and forms the _pendant_ to the famous rose-colour of his -bitter enemy, Madame de Pompadour. - -The changes made after this time were chiefly of a practical nature. The -horizontal furnaces were early replaced by the cylindrical type now -generally in use in Europe, and as long ago as 1799 steam power was -employed in the preparation of the materials. The chemist, above all, -has at all times played an important part at Berlin. - -Many strange applications of porcelain, some more curious than really -beautiful, were introduced about the beginning of the nineteenth -century. A close imitation of lace and _tulle_, made by dipping into a -specially prepared slip a real tissue which was afterwards burned away, -was a nine days’ wonder when first introduced. (A veiled bust in white -biscuit of Queen Louise of Prussia, now at Dresden, is perhaps the most -famous example of this ware.) Another application of porcelain was to -the ‘transparencies’ or _lithophanie_, in which the design, as seen by -transmitted light, was given by variations in the thickness of the -paste. - -The only mark of interest on the porcelain of Berlin is the sceptre (PL. -C. 31), the prized ensign that the electors of Brandenburg bore on their -shield as an emblem of their position as Arch-Chamberlains of the Holy -Roman Empire.[162] It was this sceptre (very slightly indicated on the -earlier examples, and resembling, perhaps intentionally, the Saxon mark) -that the Prince de Ligne observing on his plate, when dining with the -king, affected to take for a sword, and made the occasion of a -‘two-edged’ compliment. - - -HÖCHST.--The fayence of Höchst, a town lying between Frankfort and -Mainz, had acquired some reputation early in the eighteenth century, and -already, by the year 1720, one of the manufacturers, Göltz, had -attempted to make porcelain. But not until he had obtained the -assistance of a runaway workman or ‘arcanist’ from Vienna, one Ringler -(a name which occurs over and over again in similar connections--see -note, p. 262), was anything of importance accomplished.[163] The kilns -were now rebuilt on the Viennese model, and by the year 1746 porcelain -of good quality was produced. The works had already received many -privileges from the local prince, in this case the archbishop-elector of -Mainz, and about 1778 (or perhaps earlier) the whole establishment was -purchased by him. This prince was a patron of art and fond of display, -so that during his day the manufacture was conducted on a non-commercial -basis. The chief claim to attention of the ware made at Höchst depends -upon the little lifelike figures that were modelled by a clever sculptor -who worked there from 1768 or 1770 to 1780. The work of this Johann -Peter Melchior, who survived till 1825, is preferred by some collectors -to anything made at Meissen. He migrated late in life first to -Frankenthal, and then to Nymphenburg. The wooden models from which he -worked are now much sought after in Germany. It is stated that the -kaolin used at Höchst was obtained from Limoges, but this can only apply -to a comparatively late period. The works came to an end with the -invasion of the French in 1794. The mark, a six-spoked wheel, sometimes -surmounted by a crown (Pl. c. 29), is derived from the arms of the -arch-episcopal see of Mainz,--indeed the Höchst ware is sometimes known -as _porcelaine de Mayence_. - - -FÜRSTENBERG.--The Duke Karl of Brunswick was one of the earliest German -princes to establish a porcelain factory; this was at the castle of -Fürstenberg, on the Weser. The works were organised about 1746 by the -Baron von Langen, who was something of an arcanist; and from Höchst, in -1750, the assistance of an experienced potter, one Bengraf, was -obtained. Bengraf had to escape by stealth from Höchst, where he had -been in the employ of Göltz, and reached Fürstenberg after many -sufferings and privations. A point of interest in connection with the -porcelain made at a later time at this factory is that flour-spar -(fluoride of calcium) has formed an important element in the composition -of the glaze. In the Museum at Brunswick may be seen more than eight -hundred specimens of this porcelain, and any want of originality is made -up for by the extraordinary variety and number of the different wares -that have been copied. It is not perhaps surprising, in view of the -close family ties existing between the dukes and our second and third -Georges, to find copies of our English soft pastes, especially of -Chelsea. The clarets and maroons of this latter ware were imitated with -some success. A landscape-painter of some local fame, whose works may be -seen in the gallery at Brunswick, one Pascha Weitsch, was employed to -paint views on this porcelain, and good portrait-busts--of Lavater and -of Raphael Mengs, among others--may be found in the adjacent museum. The -factory has continued in operation up to quite recent times. The -Fürstenberg mark, a large F in a flowing hand (PL. C. 30), may be -observed not unfrequently on china in old collections in England. There -was more than one specimen at Strawberry Hill. - - -LUDWIGSBURG.--We now come again upon the arcanist Ringler. In 1758 he -was tempted away from Höchst by the Duke Karl Eugen of Würtemberg, and -placed at the head of a manufactory of porcelain which had lately been -established at Ludwigsburg, the Versailles or Potsdam of the dukes, -situated some nine miles to the north of Stuttgart. The paste of this -ware is not remarkable for purity of tint, and I do not know whether we -are to believe the statement that the materials came in part from -France. The enamel painting is distinguished by its high finish; on the -gala services made for the court, among wreaths of flowers in low relief -we find carefully painted beetles and butterflies. The little, highly -finished statuettes and groups are of some merit. In the Museum of -National Antiquities at Stuttgart is now to be seen an extensive -collection of porcelain, purchased in 1875 from Herr Murschel, and here -the Ludwigsburg ware can be well studied. The shield of Würtemberg, -with - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXXII._ 1. MEISSEN. 2. LUDWIGSBURG.] - -its three pairs of antlers, is sometimes found on this ware (PL. C. 35), -but more often the initials of the reigning duke--or (after 1806) -king--with or without a crown (PL. C. 36). It is this last mark that has -probably given rise to the absurd name of Kronenburg by which this ware -is sometimes known among dealers. Soon after 1775, when the dukes -abandoned Ludwigsburg as a place of residence, the factory declined in -importance, but the manufacture lingered on till the year 1824. - - -NYMPHENBURG.--About the middle of the eighteenth century the electoral -prince, Max Joseph, established some works at Neudeck, on the Au, in -ducal Bavaria, and this factory, it is said, was visited and reorganised -by the ubiquitous Ringler in 1756. In 1758, however, the manufactory was -removed to the summer residence of Nymphenburg, near Munich. Heintzmann -painted landscapes, and other artists copied famous pictures from the -Munich Gallery, on the fine white ground of this porcelain. The -elector-palatine inherited the ducal territory in 1778, and hither, in -1799, came many workmen from Frankenthal when the palatinate was invaded -by the French. This ware is best represented in the National Museum at -Munich. The works are still carried on, but they are now in private -hands. The Nymphenburg porcelain may generally be recognised by the -shield of Bavaria, ‘fusilly’ (PL. C. 35), but this shield takes various -forms and the mark is often very small. - - -FRANKENTHAL.--Somewhat more interest attaches to the porcelain made at -Frankenthal, a town of the palatinate, not far from Mannheim, if only -because at its foundation we are brought into connection not only with -the earlier German works, but at the same time, indirectly, it is true, -with Sèvres. Here, according to one account, came Ringler, in 1751, -leaving Höchst in disgust, after he had been robbed of his papers and of -his secrets. At any rate, a few years later, in 1755, Paul Antoine -Hannong, a member of a famous family of potters at Strassburg, was -granted a privilege to found here a factory of porcelain. Hannong had -graduated as a porcelain arcanist, and had already fruitlessly -endeavoured to sell his secrets to the authorities at Vincennes. As the -royal porcelain works, on their removal to Sèvres, now began to claim -the monopoly for the whole of France, Hannong was not allowed to set up -his kilns at Strassburg. - -The electoral prince Karl Theodor bought the works at Frankenthal in -1761, and devoted himself to obtaining the best artists (Melchior, among -others, was brought from Höchst) and most skilful potters, so that for a -few years the porcelain here produced was in its way as good as any made -in Germany--indeed it was attempted to rival the contemporary work of -Sèvres in the delicacy of the painting and the brilliancy of the -gilding. This ware is always to be associated with the Elector Karl -Theodor, and its glory came to an end when, in 1778, he abandoned the -palatinate on becoming elector of ducal Bavaria. The factory, however, -was not finally closed till about 1800. The most usual mark is the -lion-rampant crowned, from the arms of the palatinate (PL. C. 32); the -initials of Karl Theodor are also found surmounted by a crown (PL. C. -33). There is a curious plate of this ware in the Franks collection; it -bears a Latin inscription (containing a chronogram for 1775) which -states that all the various colours and gilding used at the works are -made use of in the decoration. - - -FULDA.--Porcelain was probably made at Fulda as early as the year 1741, -but it was only in 1763, or perhaps even later, that the prince-bishop -set up the ‘_Fürstliche Fuldaische feine Porzellan-Fabrik_’ close by -his palace. The daintily modelled and carefully finished ware here made, -marked with a double F or by a cross (PL. C. 37 and 38), is seen -occasionally in English collections. The fireclay as well as the -beechwood for his kilns was obtained from the adjacent volcanic hills of -the Hohe Rhön. As not only the bishop himself but the canons of the -church also availed themselves somewhat freely of their privilege of -appropriating whatever pleased them, as presents to their friends, a -heavy loss was incurred, and the works were closed soon after the death -of the founder. - -Porcelain was also made during the latter half of the eighteenth century -at Gotha and several other places in the neighbourhood of the Thüringer -Wald. There are specimens of the ware made at many of these kilns--at -Kloster Veilsdorf, at Wallendorf, at Gross Breitenbach, Limbach, Gera, -and especially at Gotha--in the Franks collection of continental -porcelain. A good deal of common porcelain for table use is still made -at scattered factories in this district. - - -STRASSBURG.--Without committing oneself to any political _parti-pris_, -we may conveniently say a word of the ceramic history of Strassburg at -this point, although in the eighteenth century the town already belonged -to France.[164] The Hannong family had here from the beginning of the -eighteenth century been making fayence, and this family is of interest -to us as forming a link between the porcelain of Germany and that of -France. Charles François Hannong, probably with the assistance of a -German arcanist, attempted the manufacture of hard porcelain as early as -1721. It was his son Paul Antoine who first entered into negotiations -with the French for the sale of the secret of making hard porcelain. -This was in 1753. Not only did these negotiations come to nothing, but, -as we have already mentioned, Hannong was hampered in his attempts to -establish a porcelain factory in his native town. In 1755 we find him -with the elector-palatine at Frankenthal. After his death in 1760, the -factory at Strassburg was carried on for a time by his son, Pierre -Antoine, but in 1766 the latter went to France and started a factory -first at Vincennes, and later in the Faubourg St. Lazare, under the -patronage of the Comte d’Artois. Later still we find him employed at the -Vinovo works in Piedmont. His eldest son, Joseph Adam Hannong, struggled -on for some time at Strassburg under the protection of the local -magnate, the Cardinal de Rohan. Thus for more than sixty years four -generations of this family played a prominent part in the dissemination -of the knowledge of hard porcelain in Europe, although the actual wares -made by them are of little importance.[165] - -The factory at the adjacent town of Niderwiller appears to have derived -its inspiration directly from Meissen. Porcelain was here made from -German clay as early as the sixties. At a later time the works belonged -to the Comte de Custine, and some well modelled biscuit figures, the -clay for which was obtained from Limoges, were then turned out. - - -SWITZERLAND.--A good deal of porcelain was made in the eighteenth -century both at Zurich and at Nyon, on the Lake of Geneva. The various -wares are well represented in several of the local Swiss museums. - -The porcelain of ZURICH belongs essentially to the Saxon group. The -hard, greyish or dead-white paste, and the flowers or landscapes -carefully painted in opaque colours, point at once to the origin of the -ware. The factory was established as early as 1763, with the assistance -of an arcanist, one Spengler, from Höchst. The Swiss poet, Solomon -Gessner, took a great interest in the works, himself painting landscapes -on several pieces. From Ludwigsburg also came Sonnenschein, to model -some clever and lifelike figures. A coral-coloured ware made at this -time was much admired. The Zurich factory did not long survive the -French invasion: it was closed in 1803. This porcelain is marked in blue -under the glaze with a capital Z of German form (PL. D. 49). - -At NYON, on the other hand, the influence came from Sèvres, in later -times at least, for on the earlier specimens the tulips, birds, and -landscapes are of a Saxon type. The white ware, _semé de -fleurettes_--blue violets and roses--is perhaps the most characteristic. -There were probably two factories here at the end of the eighteenth -century. Of these the better known one was established by Maubrée, a -flower painter from Sèvres, to whom is attributed the porcelain marked -with a hastily sketched fish in blue (PL. D. 50). Some of the Nyon -porcelain was decorated at Geneva, and at a later date we find more than -one artist of the latter town holding an important position at Sèvres; -indeed under Charles X., a Genevese, Abraham Constantin, who copied the -pictures of Raphael on porcelain, was director of the art school -attached to the royal factory. - - -HUNGARY.--A factory was established by Moritz Fischer at Herend, in -Hungary, early in the nineteenth century. The porcelain of Herend is of -especial interest to us, for Fischer appears to have mastered the -problem of producing the brilliant and jewel-like enamels of the -Chinese. Some of his imitations of the _famille rose_ are excellent. He -appears to have devoted himself to making coffee-cups and other small -objects for the Turkish market. There is an interesting collection of -his ware at South Kensington. The _rouge d’or_, the green and even the -black grounds of the Chinese are well imitated, but the blue, _sous -couverte_, and the iron red are not so successful. He also imitated the -porcelain of Sèvres and Capo di Monte. Fischer stamped his ware with the -word Herend in very small characters, and the Hungarian coat of arms is -sometimes added over the glaze (PL. C. 39). - - * * * * * - -At the time of the great porcelain fever of the eighteenth century, of -which the culminating period may be held to be coincident with the Seven -Years’ War (1756-63), the North of Europe--Holland, Denmark, and -Russia--formed part of the great province that had its metropolis at -Meissen, while the southern countries--Spain and Italy (in part)--may be -said to have looked to Sèvres for their inspiration. As for England, its -allegiance was divided, but at the beginning, and certainly during the -best period, the French influence was predominant; and later on, as -regards the materials at least, we struck out a line of our own. - - -HOLLAND.--There is little of novelty or originality to be found in the -hard-paste porcelain made at this time in the North of Europe. The great -days of Dutch art were over long before the introduction of porcelain -into Holland, and the little that was then made fell readily into the -Saxon school of decoration. Somewhere about 1760 the Count of Gronsfeld -Diepenbroik established some of the Meissen workmen at Weesp. The mark -on this early ware is doubtless derived from the Saxon swords (PL. C. -40). Later, when removed to OUDE LOOSDRECHT, the works were under the -superintendence of a Calvinist _pastor_--his name is given as Moll. The -mark on his porcelain, however, M. O. L., certainly referred in the -first place to the place of manufacture (PL. C. 41). On the death of -the reverend director in 1782 the factory was removed to Amsterdam, -where the porcelain known generally as OUDE AMSTEL--a name that is often -made to include the other Dutch porcelain of the time--was manufactured. - -At THE HAGUE, in 1778, a company was formed to make porcelain. This was -under the patronage of the local magnates. They obtained the assistance -of German workmen, and took the well-known badge of their town--a stork -holding a fish in its mouth--as a mark (PL. C. 42). This was painted in -blue _under the glaze_--for the native porcelain at least. In the case -of the foreign white ware, much of which was decorated here--the soft -paste of Tournai especially--the mark was painted _over the glaze_. The -somewhat heavily decorated porcelain of the Hague, painted with -landscapes, sea-pieces, and flowers, is now much sought after by the -Dutch. At the time, however, the competition of both Oriental and German -porcelain, of the enamelled fayence of Delft and later of the English -wares, left little place in Holland for a native porcelain. - - -SWEDEN.--The fayence and soft-paste porcelain made at Marieberg and at -Rörstrand--both places in the neighbourhood of Stockholm--received their -inspiration from Delft and Sèvres (or rather perhaps from Mennecy) -respectively. Some hard paste was also made at Marieberg about 1780. The -rare specimens of this ware are of considerable artistic merit. Of the -soft-paste Swedish porcelain there are some custard-cups, closely -imitating the Mennecy ware, both at South Kensington and in the Franks -collection. The hard porcelain (and also, it is said, a ware that -appears to be of a hybrid paste) bears as a mark the three crowns of the -house of Vasa (PL. C. 44). - - -DENMARK.--At Copenhagen there were some early attempts at a soft paste -made by a Frenchman named Fournier about 1760.[166] The mark--F. 5.--on -this ware refers to Frederick V., the reigning king. But the famous -factory of hard-paste porcelain, that has of late years shown so much -enterprise and originality,[167] was founded in 1772 by F. H. Müller, a -chemist and Government official, the materials being obtained from the -island of Bornholm. In this case the German influence came from Meissen, -and also, it would seem, by way of Fürstenberg, for we hear of a certain -Von Lang from that town (probably the Von Langen mentioned above), baron -and arcanist, who helped in the founding of the works. The factory was -taken over by the Government in 1779, and it was long worked at a loss. -The mark of three wavy lines in blue on this ware stands for the Sound, -the Great and the Little Belt (PL. C. 43). The curved mouldings, -radiating in sets of three from a central medallion, sometimes found on -bowls and plates, may also have a similar reference. This latter -decoration is shown well on a bowl at South Kensington, painted with -birds and flowers in gold frames. The handsome _cabarets_ and -dinner-services produced in the eighteenth century belong to the German -school of the time, and have little relation to the more recent -developments about which we shall have a word to say in chapter xxiii. - - -RUSSIA.--Peter the Great, at the instigation of his friend and ally, -Augustus of Saxony, is said to have projected a manufactory of porcelain -at St. Petersburg, but the scheme was not carried out till the time of -the Empress Elizabeth. This was probably about 1756, or perhaps -earlier, and she doubtless, a few years later, welcomed the Meissen -potters driven out by her mortal enemy, Frederick.[168] Under Catherine -II. these works rose to some importance, and among the many artists and -sculptors attracted to her court, not a few--Falconet, among -others--were employed as modellers or painters on porcelain. But on the -whole the Russian porcelain was influenced more by Saxon models, and we -hear that the gaps in the court services of Meissen ware were so well -replaced by native pieces that the new dishes and plates were not to be -distinguished from the old. The kaolin and the china-stone were derived -from native sources. - -After the Napoleonic war the manufacture of gigantic vases, in the style -of those made at Sèvres under Brongniart’s _régime_, was attempted, and -several skilful artists migrated from France. Technically the porcelain -was not inferior to the hard paste of the latter country. The only mark -is the initial of the reigning Emperor or Empress in Russian characters -(PL. C. 46), surmounted sometimes by a crown, but beyond these letters -there is nothing Russian about the ware. The factory, which is still -carried on, has always been an appanage of the court, and its chief -produce has consisted in gala pieces for imperial presents. - -Not much seems to be known about a certain Gardner, an Englishman, who -in 1787 organised a porcelain factory at Tver, near Moscow. Some -statuettes with his initials, written in Russian, have been attributed -to him. His name occurs in full, again in Russian letters, on some -small pieces of ribbed porcelain, decorated with green and gold. The -factory seems to have long preserved his name, for on a statuette of a -Russian peasant, in the Franks collection, the words _Fabrika Gardnery_ -are accompanied by the initials of Alexander II. (PL. C. 45). - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE SOFT-PASTE PORCELAIN OF FRANCE - -SAINT-CLOUD--LILLE--CHANTILLY--MENNECY--PARIS--VINCENNES--SÈVRES. - - -We have now to take up the history of the soft-paste porcelain of -France, and in the first place to follow the stages that intervene -between the early tentative ware made by Poterat at Rouen (see p. 239) -and the fully developed ‘artificial’ porcelain of Sèvres. We have, then, -to deal first with the wares of Saint-Cloud and Chantilly, and in part -with those of Lille and Mennecy-Villeroy. - -But before saying anything of the different wares we had better go back -to the technical side of our subject, and give some explanation of the -term soft paste,[169] artificial paste, or frit paste. - -We have come across something of this sort before in the case of the -Medici ware. This was essentially the combination of a glass with a fine -white clay. When we come to the French soft paste we find the kaolinic -element replaced by something between a calcareous clay and an impure -limestone, the _marne_ of the French, which may be rendered by our -somewhat vague expression, marl. - -M. Vogt (_La Porcelaine_, Paris, 1893) quotes from a memoir drawn up in -1753 by Hellot, a prominent member of the Academy of Science, which well -illustrates the point of view of the time. Hellot knew all about kaolin -and petuntse, as described by the Jesuit missionaries, but he despaired -of finding the materials in France. M. de Réaumur, he tells us, made, it -is true, a greyish refractory ware from what he (Réaumur) claimed to be -the French equivalent of these materials, but the ‘firm, compact, -snow-like porcelain of China, what we commonly know as _Ancien Japon_ -(_sic_) has yet to be imitated.’ After giving an outline of the history -of French soft paste up to this time (to this important contemporary -evidence we shall return shortly), Hellot claims that this soft paste is -equal to the real ‘Japan,’ except that the grain is less fine, while as -for ‘the Saxon ware, it is no porcelain at all except on the exterior. -When broken it is easy to see that it is merely a white enamel, only -harder than the ordinary enamel of painters.’ This, be it noted, is -written forty years after Böttger’s great discovery. We see by it how -well the secret was kept.[170] - -_There is no question, therefore, but of soft-paste porcelain._ It is -thus that Hellot sums up his report, written at the critical period when -it was proposed to remove the Vincennes works to Sèvres, and place them -under more immediate royal protection, and for this verdict we have -every reason to be thankful. - -It is from this same memoir, _Recueil de tous les procédés de la -Porcelaine de la Manufacture Royale de Vincennes_, that we obtain the -most accurate details of the composition of the soft paste made at this -time. It was a strictly private document, written expressly for the king -by Hellot, who had recently been appointed to the direction of the -Vincennes factory. This report was unearthed some time ago from among -the archives at Sèvres. - -According to Hellot, writing in 1753, just as the Chinese combine the -more fusible petuntse with the kaolin--‘a kind of talc which neither -calcines nor vitrifies’--so with our frit, an artificial petuntse, we -must mix, not an unctuous fusible clay, but some fine white infusible -substance. Such a material is found in certain _marnes_ obtained from -the gypsum quarries near Paris. - -The frit employed at Vincennes at this time--and the composition seems -to have varied little up to the last days of soft paste in France--was -essentially an alkaline silicate, containing also some lime and alumina, -as will be seen from the following recipe:-- - - Fused nitre, 22 per cent. - Sea salt, 7 ” - Alicante soda, 3·7 ” - Rock alum, 3·7 ” - Montmartre gypsum, 3·7 ” - Fontainebleau sand, 60 ” - -These ingredients, some of which are soluble in water, are fritted -together--that is to say, imperfectly fused--in a part of the kiln -specially reserved for them, great precautions being taken to regulate -the heat. After reducing the frit to powder, the superfluous salts had -to be thoroughly washed out by means of boiling water, before the -substance was fit for mixing with the ‘body’ constituent of the paste. - -This body is prepared from the _grosse marne_ found at Argenteuil, by -careful sifting and decantation. Six parts of the prepared frit are -mixed with one part of the washed marl and with one part of a kind of -chalk called _blanc d’Espagne_ (this last substance was afterwards -dispensed with), and the whole thoroughly united by a grinding process -which lasted for nine days. The resulting paste was made up into balls -and allowed to ‘ferment’ for seven or eight months. - -Now, if we glance over the various materials that have entered into the -composition of this very ‘artificial’ paste, we see that alumina, the -substance which, together with silica, we regard as the essential -element in all fictile materials, is present in very small quantities; -what there is of it can only be derived from the marl and from the alum -in the frit; and this inference is confirmed by an analysis made by -Salvétat--he found, indeed, only 2·23 per cent. of this earth in a -fragment of old Sèvres. It may safely be said that in no other fictile -ware is so small a quantity of alumina present. With this poverty of -alumina we may associate the want of plasticity--the extreme ‘shortness’ -which distinguishes this clay, if clay it can be called. In order to -throw it on the wheel it had to be worked up with a certain quantity of -_chimie_, a mixture of black soap and fine glue; at a later time gum -tragacanth was used. Most of the soft paste, indeed, was made in moulds, -but even in this case the _pâte chimisée_ had to be employed. It was not -till a later time that these difficulties were in part overcome by the -introduction of the English process of ‘casting.’ - -The kilns at this time were small, with only one hearth, in which poplar -wood was burned, but the firing was sometimes continued for more than a -hundred hours. Hellot tells us that after the first firing more than -two-thirds of the charge had generally to be rejected. The -remainder--the successful biscuitware--was now polished with grit-stone, -before being dipped into the soup-like glaze slip: in the case of -vessels of complicated outline, the glaze was painted on with a brush. -This ‘enamel,’ as the French sometimes call it--the term must not be -confused with our use of that word--was essentially a silicate of lead, -soda, and potash--a flint or crystal glass, in fact, containing nearly -40 per cent. of litharge. Hellot describes its preparation as follows: -the constituents of the glaze, thoroughly mingled together, were melted -to a glass, which had then to be reduced to a fine powder, and mixed -with water and vinegar to form the slip. The presence of vinegar -hindered the deposition of the solid particles in the soup-like liquid, -and at the same time promoted the adhesion of the slip to the surface of -the biscuit. This biscuit, with its thick coating of glaze, was now -again fired, this time at a more gentle temperature. - -The plain white ware was now handed over to the painters and gilders, -and it is at this stage that the advantage resulting from this thick -coating of an easily fusible, lustrous glaze asserts itself. The -pigments themselves, suspended in a flux of similar constitution, are at -the temperature of the muffle-stove completely incorporated with the -subjacent glaze, and do not, as in the case of the German and still more -of the later Sèvres hard paste, lie as a dead coating on the surface. - -Hellot gives in his report numerous recipes for these enamel -colours--there are as many as twenty-five for the blacks alone--but from -these empirical data little is to be learned. It would seem, however, -that the ‘enamels of Venice,’ prepared doubtless by the Murano -glassblowers, were imported for this purpose. - -The muffle-firing was a long and complicated process--the preliminary -heating in the case of large pieces occupied twenty-five hours. The -superintendence of the firing of each batch was delegated to one of the -painters--a most arduous and responsible task which often occupied as -much as fifteen days, for each piece had to pass to a fresh position -when a requisite degree of heat had been obtained. - -The above summary will give some approximate idea of the complicated and -delicate processes involved in the fabrication of the _porcelaine de -France_ at the time when the ware that is now most prized by collectors -was being produced at the works. We must now give some account of the -forerunners--the soft-paste porcelains made at Saint-Cloud and at -Chantilly in the early part of the eighteenth century. - - -SAINT-CLOUD.--In 1695 the widow and children of Pierre Chicoineau (or -Chicanaux) petitioned the king for the sole privilege of making the -‘_véritable porcelaine de la même qualité, plus belle et aussi parfaite -et propice aux mêmes usages que la porcelaine des Indes et de la -Chine_.’ In granting the petition, the rights of the Poterat family of -Rouen are reserved; but it is stated that no porcelain had been made at -Rouen for several years. The earliest description, curiously enough, of -the manufacture of porcelain in France, is to be found in _An Account of -a Journey to Paris in the year 1698_, by Dr. Martin Lister. In speaking -of what he saw at the ‘potterie of Saint-Clou,’ Lister declares that the -painting of the ware surpassed that of the Chinese, nor was the glaze -inferior in whiteness and ‘smoothness of running without bubbles.... -Again, the inward Substance and the Matter of the Pots was to me the -very same, firm and hard as Marble, and the self-same grain, on this -side vitrification. Further, the transparency of the Pots the very -same.’ After more than twenty-five years of experiment it was only, says -Dr. Lister, within the last three that the process had been brought to -perfection. We may therefore place the beginning of the porcelain of -Saint-Cloud about the year 1695. - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXXIII._ 1--ROUEN, BLUE AND WHITE -2--SAINT-CLOUD, CELADON -3--SAINT-CLOUD, BLUE AND WHITE] - -In the _Mercure Galant_ of October 1700 we hear of frequent visits of -princes, lords, and ambassadors to the works of ‘M. Chicanaux,’ above -all of the young Duchesse de Bourgogne, who ‘stopped her carriage at the -gate to see the manufacture of fine porcelain which has not its like in -all Europe.’ This reads very like a modern _réclame_, but it is -important as showing the interest already taken by great people in the -new ware. - -At a later time the Saint-Cloud works came more directly under the -patronage of the Dukes of Orleans, both the regent and his son ‘Louis le -Dévot.’ It was then in the hands of Henri Trou, who had married -Chicoineau’s widow. Earlier Chicoineau pieces (1702-1712) bear as a mark -the sun of Louis XIV. roughly traced in blue (PL. D. 51). At a later -time, under the Trou _régime_, we find a roughly drawn T surmounted by -the letters S.-C. (PL. D. 52). The specimens of this ware--there are -plenty of them in the French museums and several at South -Kensington--are seldom of any size, and the decoration is generally -sparingly applied to the milk-white ground. In the earlier pieces the -_lambrequins_ borders in under-glaze blue carry on the tradition of the -seventeenth century renaissance style in use at Rouen, and we find -similar patterns moulded in low relief.[171] The moulded surface is -often covered with a scale-like pattern (PL. XXXIII.): with this we may -probably identify ‘the quilted china of Saint-Cloud,’ of which there was -a tea-service at Strawberry Hill. But it is rather the Oriental -influence that is generally predominant; and the white ware of Fukien, -decorated with sprigs of prunus blossom, is closely copied. Of special -interest are some very successful imitations of the _famille rose_. On a -_trembleuse_ saucer at South Kensington[172] the _rouge d’or_ is used -with great effect; the way in which the pink is gradated with the white -enamel shows full command of the materials. This saucer bears the T of -the Trou family as a mark, but we unfortunately do not know the exact -date when this mark was first introduced, and still less for how long it -was employed.[173] - - -LILLE.--A manufactory of porcelain was founded at Lille as early as the -year 1711. The founders, in their petition to the mayor and council of -the town, acknowledge that their aim was to follow in the wake of the -Chicoineau family of Saint-Cloud, the only place in Europe, they say, -where porcelain was made. At the same time they seize the occasion to -attack the head of the Rouen works, who, they affirm, has attempted to -palm off his inferior wares at Paris, to the prejudice of the real -Saint-Cloud porcelain. Some side-light is thus thrown on the rivalry of -the Poterat and Chicoineau families. In fact, the porcelain made at -Lille closely resembles the Saint-Cloud ware. We find this especially in -the pieces with a white ground sparely decorated with _lambrequins_ of -blue. It was, however, evidently made with less care, and we do not find -the milky paste which is so great a charm in the Saint-Cloud porcelain. -The mark, the letter L, stands for the town of Lille. This factory of -soft paste does not seem to have lasted more than twenty years. Late in -the century hard porcelain was made for a short time in this town, and -it is claimed that it was at Lille that coal was first used for the -firing of porcelain. There is a plate in the Sèvres Museum inscribed -‘_Faite à Lille en Flandre, cuite au charbon de terre_.’ The manager, -Leperre Durot, was unsuccessful, however, in an attempt to introduce his -new fuel at Paris. In 1786 the Dauphin (he was only five years old at -the time) became patron of the factory at Lille, and the mark for the -few remaining years of its existence was a dolphin crowned. - - -CHANTILLY.--We have seen how close to nearly every _Residenz-Stadt_ in -Germany there sprang up a porcelain manufactory under the patronage of -the prince. In somewhat similar way the fashion spread in France. Here -the head of each branch of the royal house either took some already -established factory under his protection, or promoted the setting up of -new works. At this time, I mean at the beginning of the eighteenth -century, it was the mark of a loyal subject and good citizen to send the -family plate to the melting-pot and to forward the resulting bullion to -the mint to be coined into money, in this following the example of the -king. This was the case above all in 1709, when Louis was in great want -of money. We are told that the Duc D’Antin, ‘the perfect courtier,’ -after a sacrifice of this kind, ‘_courut à Paris choisir force -porcelaine admirable qu’il eut à grand marché_.’ So that, in the words -of Saint-Simon, the goldsmiths were being ruined, and the makers of -fayence and porcelain enriched. This fashion gave, of course, a great -stimulus to the establishment of new factories. Thus the head of the -great house of Condé became the patron of the works established in 1725 -by Ciquaire Ciron at Chantilly. In the letters patent granted in 1735 we -are told ‘_Notre bien aimé Ciquaire Ciron nous a fait représenter que -depuis plus de dix ans il s’est appliqué à la fabrique de la porcelaine -pareille à celle qui se faisait anciennement au Japon_.’ The prince, -Louis Henri,[174] already possessed a remarkable collection of this -Oriental porcelain, and some sixty examples of this ware made -_anciennement au Japon_, what we now know as Kakiyemon, are still to be -seen in the Château of Chantilly. - -The earlier porcelain of Chantilly is remarkable in this, that following -the example of the enamelled fayence of the day, it is coated with an -opaque stanniferous glaze. On this ground, which resembles closely that -of the earliest Japanese ware, the peculiar decoration of the Kakiyemon -porcelain is closely copied.[175] Indeed, the delicate yet spirited -handling of this decoration--I would point especially to two cylindrical -vases mounted in silver in the Fitzhenry collection (PL. XXXIV.)--is -something that we are quite unaccustomed to in European porcelain. It -will be noticed, however, that the over-glaze blue enamel is somewhat -heavy in tone, and has evidently given trouble to the decorator. - -At a later time the tin enamel gave place to a vitreous glaze similar to -that used at Mennecy, and the decoration most in favour was a somewhat -poor underglaze blue. On such ware, especially on plates, we find the -well-known ‘Chantilly sprig,’ so often imitated on English porcelain. -This pattern is distinguished by a leaf, or rather bract, of peculiar -shape at the branching of the twigs, and the design would seem to be of -Persian origin. It is interesting to compare it with the very similar -sprigs often seen in the decoration - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXXIV._ CHANTILLY] - -of the Medici porcelain. The shield of the Condé family is sometimes -found on plates of this ware, the ‘baton of cadency’ between the lilies -so reduced in size as to look like an accidental spot. The mark, a -hunting-horn, is carefully painted in red on the older pieces; later on, -it is found rapidly sketched in blue under the glaze[176] (PL. D. 53). - - -MENNECY-VILLEROY.--This time it is not a prince of the blood, but a -_très grand seigneur_, whose name we find associated with a group of -French porcelain. It was on the estate of the Duc de Villeroy, the son -of Louis XIV.’s notorious marshal, at Les Petites Maisons, near -Mennecy,[177] that Barbin began to make porcelain in the year 1735. The -ware he turned out is remarkable for a translucent body covered by a -brilliant and uniform glaze. Many kinds of decoration were tried by -Barbin and his successors during the forty years of the existence of -these works. This period of time well covers the culminating period of -soft-paste porcelain in France, and the Mennecy ware fairly represents -the school as a whole in its more modest efforts. The decoration with -scattered flowers (_bouquets de style français_) is perhaps the most -characteristic design on this ware, but more ambitious work in imitation -of Sèvres was attempted later. As at Saint-Cloud and at Chantilly, much -attention was given to the little daintily painted ‘toys’--patch-boxes, -cane-heads, and knife-handles--many of which were copied a little later -at Chelsea. - -But the reputation of Mennecy rests above all upon its -_figurines_--little statuettes, generally brilliantly painted, though -some are covered with the plain white glaze only (PL. XXXV.). Others, -again, are in a biscuit of peculiar quality, and these last are at -times remarkably well modelled. The mark D. V. (PL. D. 54), doubtless -referring to the patron, was maintained up to the time of the removal of -the works to Bourg-la-Reine, near Sceaux, in 1773. - -We have taken up the porcelain of Mennecy at this point, as the date of -its foundation is earlier than that of Vincennes. From its general -character, however, we might rather class it as a ‘younger sister’ of -Sèvres, while the other wares we have described, Saint-Cloud, Chantilly, -and Lille, form a distinct and earlier group by themselves. These latter -are distinguished from the later soft pastes of France, on the one hand, -by the predominance of designs either of Oriental origin or derived from -the French enamelled fayence of the seventeenth century; on the other, -by the restrained way in which the coloured decoration is applied, or -even by the total absence of colour, so that, as a whole, these wares -form an essentially white group of porcelain. - - -SMALLER FACTORIES OF SOFT PASTE.--There were already, in Paris, during -the early or Saint-Cloud period, some small private works where -soft-paste porcelain was made. We hear of one in the Faubourg St. Honoré -as early as 1722, belonging to the Veuve Chicoineau. De Réaumur, in -1739, mentions a factory in the Faubourg St. Antoine. Some other -porcelain works under the patronage of princes of the blood were erected -at a later date. The Duc de Penthièvre took a keen interest in the -porcelain made near to his _château_ at Sceaux, and this ware, first -made in 1751, is distinguished by its high finish and careful -decoration. So much cannot be said of the produce of the ducal kilns at -Orleans, where both fayence and soft-paste porcelain were made about the -middle of the century. Not long after, hard-paste porcelain was made at -Orleans by - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXXV._ 1--SÈVRES, WHITE BISCUIT -2--MENNECY, GLAZED WHITE PORCELAIN] - -Gérault, but it is doubtful whether all the pieces marked with the -Orleans label (of three points) (PL. D. 60) can be attributed to these -works rather than to the factory at Clignancourt. The works at Arras, -probably the last started with the object of making a soft-paste ware, -cannot be traced further back than 1771. Here the Demoiselles Delesseux, -with the support of M. de Calonne, manufactured blue and white ware in -competition with the neighbouring factory at Tournai. - - -TOURNAI.--Soft-paste porcelain was first made at Tournai in 1750, and -although the town is now in Belgium, the ware there manufactured in the -last century forms, with that made at Lille and Arras, a distinct group. -The mark of two swords in saltire and four small crosses (PL. D. 48) is -derived from the arms of Peterinck of Lille, the founder of the works. -At first a tower (PL. D. 47), from the town arms, was also used. Many -varieties of decoration were employed here both for blue and white and -enamelled ware. But before long the commercial spirit prevailed, and a -common ware was turned out in large quantities. - - -VINCENNES AND SÈVRES.--‘_La porcelaine de Sèvres est sans contredit la -plus belle qui existe._’ This is the dictum of no less an authority than -the late Baron Davillier, and we may doubtless accept it if we limit -ourselves to the porcelain of Europe. There can be no doubt but that the -work turned out by the royal porcelain works during the first fifteen or -twenty years of their existence takes an important, if not an essential, -place in the decorative art of the eighteenth century, and that, too, at -the best period of that art. As to the intrinsic artistic merit, if such -a thing exists, or even to the general decorative value of this ware, -compared, for instance, with the fayence of the Saracenic East or with -the porcelain of China and Japan, these are questions which we are -fortunately not called upon to answer here. - -The _Porcelaines de France_, for that is the name given in the -eighteenth century to the ware produced under royal patronage, were -first made in the factory established in the riding-school at Vincennes, -and at the present day the works are within the confines of the park of -Saint-Cloud. It will, however, be convenient to include the whole series -under the name of Sèvres.[178] - -Our knowledge of the technical side of the subject is derived, as we -have seen, from the report that Hellot presented to the king in 1753. -For the history of the foundation of the works and the selection of the -artists, we are chiefly dependent upon a memoir, written in 1781 for the -information of the Government, by Bachelier, an artist who had been -attached to the works as painter on porcelain since the year 1748.[179] -In this memoir we can trace the troubled history of the years of -ill-success and financial difficulties that preceded the final -establishment of the royal works at Sèvres--_Tantæ molis erat!_ ... - -There were two names that we must always associate with this long -struggle: during the earlier period, at Vincennes, Orry de Fulvi, the -brother of the _contrôleur général de finance_; and after his death, -Madame de Pompadour. It is rather a shady story upon the whole, and at -the opening we are reminded of the adventures of the arcanist Ringler at -the various German courts. M. de Fulvi, who had long been interested in -experiments on the manufacture of porcelain, started at Vincennes with -the assistance of two worthless and drunken ‘experts’ (the equivalent -of the German ‘arcanists’) who had been tempted away from -Chantilly.[180] After repeated failures and much loss of money, the -recipes were stolen from one of those men by an astute and sober -assistant, one Gravant, to whom the whole charge of the mixing of the -materials was now confided.[181] Other workmen, and further secrets -relating to the preparation of the enamels were obtained from Chantilly -by means of a free expenditure of money, and a certain success was the -result. But meantime the funds of M. de Fulvi are exhausted, and resort -must be had to his brother, Philibert Orry, the finance minister. This -was in 1745, and we see in this step the first definite intervention of -the Government. A company was now formed, with important privileges for -thirty years, and by the influence of the minister, Hellot, from whose -report we have already quoted, was appointed chemical adviser, -Duplessis, the kings goldsmith (or rather silversmith--_argentier_) was -placed at the head of the mechanical department, and a few years later, -in 1748, Bachelier, to whom we are chiefly indebted for the history of -the works, became inspector of painting and gilding. Bachelier was not -of much note as an artist.[182] It was to his organising power and -energy, however, that the group of artists and sculptors who have given -such fame to the porcelain of Sèvres was first brought together. - -On his appointment, says Bachelier, his first care was to abandon ‘_la -grossière imitation du Japon_’, and to furnish the _ateliers_ with -pictures, models, and prints, ‘_dans tous les genres, pour remplacer les -productions chinoises qu’on y copiait encore_.’[183] - -Both M. de Fulvi and his brother died in 1751, the company was broken -up, and but for the energy and influence of a certain M. Hultz, of whom -nothing further is known, the manufacture would have come to an end. We -must remember that on the death of the finance minister, his former -enemy, Madame de Pompadour, practically took his place. Her power was at -that time at its height (she ‘reigned’ from 1745 to her death in 1764), -so that we may perhaps regard the M. Hultz of Bacheliers memoir as one -of the favourite’s ‘ghosts.’ - -It was certainly the influence of the Marquise de Pompadour that induced -Louis XV., in 1753, to sign the _arrêt_ by which the title of -_Manufacture Royale de Porcelaine_ was conferred on the establishment. -At the same time many important privileges were granted. The -establishment was now removed to Sèvres, where a plot of ground -containing some glass-works, the property of the favourite, was bought -for 66,000 livres, and the new factory set up in an adjacent domain that -had formerly belonged to the musician Lully. The king subscribed for a -quarter of the new capital. The troubles, however, were not yet ended: -the workshops were badly built and badly arranged. Finally, in 1759, -Louis took over all the shares of the company, which was at that time in -liquidation. A yearly grant of 96,000 livres secured the financial -position. In all these arrangements we see the hand of the Pompadour, -and still more in the keen way in which the business side of the -establishment was pushed. At the New Year a sale took place at -Versailles, in the palace. The king presided, and fixed the prices of -the porcelain. A large purchase of china on these occasions was a sure -way to royal favour and promotion.[184] - -A good deal of uncertainty hangs over the nature of the early work -produced at Vincennes, and no definite mark has been assigned to the -factory, before the time when the permission to use the double L was -granted, in 1751 or 1753. When, however, the royal cipher occurs without -a year letter, there is some presumption in favour of a date previous to -the latter year (PL. D. 55). - -We should infer from what Bachelier tells us that up to 1748 the designs -were chiefly derived from Oriental china. But in addition the following -forms and styles were in use in the pre-royal period at Vincennes:-- - -1. A rage for the production of artificial flowers, especially in plain -white ware, existed at one time, and when the Vincennes artists were -able to rival the Dresden flowers that had previously been imported, -from this department alone was a steady source of income obtained. The -flowers first produced were confined merely to small detached blossoms, -but in 1748 M. de Fulvi presented to the queen a trophy of white -porcelain which surpassed anything yet manufactured. On a base or -pedestal of white ware, mounted in gilt bronze, rises a small tree -completely covered with blossom of white porcelain, under which stand -three female figures of the same material. The whole trophy is about -three feet in height.[185] So again in 1750 we hear that the king had -ordered similar bouquets of flowers, ‘_peintes au naturel_,’ which were -to cost 800,000 livres! This for the famous Château de Bellevue, and for -Madame de Pompadour.[186] - -2. Much of the porcelain made at Vincennes at this time (1740-50) was -decorated with scattered groups of flowers on a white ground, a style -then known as _fleurs de Saxe_. These flowers were often in high relief, -and in this case they formed a passage to the first group. - -3. There exist certain small pieces, chiefly cups and saucers (of the -_trembleuse_ type, as usual at this time), with a ground of a deep blue. -A great vigour and depth is given to the colour (known later as _bleu du -roi_) by its somewhat irregular or mottled texture, a result, it is -said, of the manner in which it was painted on to the biscuit (it is an -underglaze colour) with a brush. We may note that the use of a dark -ground for porcelain was exceptional at this time in France. This _bleu -de Vincennes_ was imitated with some success by Sprimont at Chelsea. - -Gravant (he who had the secret of the paste) had before 1753, so Hellot -tells us in his report, succeeded in making a paste much whiter than -that of Chantilly, so as to allow of a ‘_couverte crystalline et -parfaitement diaphane_’ in place of the opaque ‘_vernix de Fayance_’ -(_sic_) used by Ciron at that factory. It is indeed important to -remember that before the works were removed from Vincennes, the soft -paste that we know as Sèvres had already reached its highest development -both as regards the materials and the decoration. The most - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXXVI._ SÈVRES] - -beautiful and characteristic colours were already used with complete -mastery, and (certainly by the year 1753) the paintings of the _cartels_ -had attained a delicacy and finish never surpassed in later times,--this -is at least true of certain classes of subjects, the _amorini_ and -wreaths of flowers, for instance. In proof of this I need only point to -certain pieces of turquoise in the Wallace collection (Gallery XV., Case -A.), above all to the _soupière_ (No. 7), modelled, no doubt, after a -silversmith’s design. If we compare such pieces to the porcelain of -Saint-Cloud and Chantilly, or to the somewhat tentative work turned out -at Vincennes itself but a few years earlier, it is difficult to account -for this rapid advance, especially at a time of change and financial -difficulties. This is certainly the most interesting period--(I mean the -years just at the middle of the century)--in the whole history of French -porcelain, and we must remember that the change came about precisely at -the time (1751) when Madame de Pompadour’s influence became predominant. - -The free access to the royal factory--the workshops seem to have been -regarded at one time as a fashionable lounge--made the preservation of -any secret processes very difficult. Bachelier says that ‘_on vient s’y -promener comme dans les maisons royales_,’ and he complains bitterly of -the loss of time, the dirt, and the accidents caused by the throng of -people. A succession of edicts, one as early as the year 1747, was -issued, restricting the access of visitors. - -When the difficulties connected with the paste and the decoration had -been surmounted, a demand arose for protection against the competition -of outside works. With this object a whole series of edicts, many of -them of a contradictory nature, was issued between the years 1750 and -1780. Of these the special aim was to prevent or hamper the production -of porcelain in other works, above all in those within a certain radius -of Paris, or failing that, at least to restrict the use of colour, and -especially of gilding, by such works as had to be tolerated. - -At the time of the removal to Sèvres the staff consisted of more than a -hundred workmen. Duplessis, the silversmith of the king, was intrusted -with the modelling and with the general artistic direction, and Hellot, -as we have seen, was what we should now call ‘scientific adviser.’[187] - -Bachelier complains that the nature of the paste and glaze was -unfavourable to the production of small figures, ‘_luisantes et -colorées_,’ like those of Saxony. He claims to have been the first--this -was as early as 1748--to recommend the use of white biscuit to reproduce -in porcelain, among other things, ‘some of the pastoral ideas of M. -Boucher,’ and this style, he tells us, ‘had a great success up to the -time when M. Falconet, to whom the department was intrusted in 1757, -introduced a more noble style, one more generalised and less subject to -the evolution of fashion.’ Falconet was carried off to Russia in 1766, -to execute for Catherine II. the great statue of Peter the Great, and -Bachelier then took his place. It was under Falconet that the best work -was produced in this department, although at a later date such -well-known names as Robert le Lorrain, Pajou, Clodion, Pigalle, and -Houdon are found upon the books of the Sèvres works. No biscuit -statuettes of _pâte tendre_ were made after the year 1777. - -The models after which the vases and other objects were designed--and -each year some fresh form was introduced--are still preserved at Sèvres. -We can trace in them, as in the mountings of the contemporary - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXXVII._ SÈVRES PORCELAIN] - -furniture, the passage from the _haute rocaille_ of the fifties to the -simpler forms in favour at the beginning of the reign of Louis XVI. - -The fashion of encasing the porcelain of China in metal mounts--for this -the large monochrome pieces were preferred--had come in at an earlier -period. The contorted forms of the gilt metal undoubtedly bring out by -contrast the simple outlines and smooth surfaces of the crackle and -celadon vases. In the Jones collection at South Kensington there are -some superbly fine examples of this collocation of French and Chinese -work. During the sixties and later it became the fashion to combine the -ormolu and other kinds of metal-work with the Sèvres porcelain in many -new ways, and the _pendules_ of the time show ingenious combinations of -the two materials in endless variety. It must be borne in mind that the -simpler forms that we associate with the reign of Louis XVI. were -already asserting themselves several years before the death of his -predecessor. - -If we examine the choicer pieces in any collection of Sèvres china, we -find that the date-marks range within a very small interval of time--a -few years on either side of 1760. This narrow limit for the best work is -well exemplified both in the Jones collection and at Hertford House. We -shall return to this point when describing the turquoise and rose -grounds of this time. - -Once established at Sèvres under direct royal patronage, the principal -efforts of the staff were directed to the designing and the execution of -elaborate dinner-services, destined to be presented in turn to the -various crowned heads of Europe. As early as 1754 a service was made for -Maria Theresa, _la Reine-Impératrice_. In 1758 a service with a green -ground and figures, flowers, and birds in cartels was commanded by Louis -XV. for presentation to the King of Denmark; in 1760 a _service de -table_ of two hundred and eighty-one pieces is presented to the -Elector-Palatine Karl Theodor, the porcelain enthusiast of Frankenthal. -In 1764, and again in 1772 and 1779, the _Ministre d’État_ Bertin -forwarded to the Chinese Emperor Kien-lung, through the medium of the -Jesuit missionaries, presents of Sèvres porcelain.[188] In 1768 and 1769 -a further grand _service de table, fond lapis caillouté_[189] is -presented to the Danish king; in 1775 it is the turn of a Spanish -princess, and in 1777 of the emperor. In 1778 the king sends to the -Sultan of Morocco a tea-service, and at the same time presents other -pieces of china to the Moorish ambassador. In the same year the Empress -Catherine ordered at Sèvres the famous service of seven hundred and -forty-four pieces, _bleu céleste_ (_i.e._ turquoise) ground, decorated -with _camées incrustés_. The flowers in this set were painted by -Taillandier, and the gilding executed by Vincent and Le Guay. There is a -plate from this service at South Kensington: on the centre the letter E, -formed of minute flowers, and the Roman numeral II, stand for Ekaterina -the Second. To this set belong also the three large _brûle-parfums_ -vases at Hertford House, and there are other pieces in private -hands.[190] The empress disputed the price (328,188 livres) demanded for -the service, and a long diplomatic correspondence on the point has been -preserved. M. Davillier gives some details of eight other royal services -made between this time and the end of the century, among them one with -green ground, for Prince Henry of Prussia (1784), of which - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXXVIII._ SÈVRES] - -several of the pieces were jewelled (_ornées d’émaux_), and in 1788 a -_grand service de table_ with vases, cups, pictures, and busts sent to -Tippoo Saib, Sultan of Mysore. - -It is usual to distinguish the different services, _cabarets_ or -_garnitures_, by the colour of the ground which is maintained throughout -the set. Thus we find the _fond lapis_ mentioned above and the _fond -vert_, a peculiar shade of green very much admired at the time and often -repeated in the lacquered furniture and even in the panels of a whole -apartment. - -We have already spoken of the TURQUOISE BLUE, but the colour is so -important that we will quote more fully the somewhat enigmatical account -of it given by Hellot. ‘The _bleu du roi_ ground, called before the -Christmas fêtes of 1753 _bleu ancien_ (Oriental turquoise by daylight, -emerald or malachite by artificial light), with which his majesty has -been so satisfied, is composed as follows....’ We are then told that we -should purchase at the Sieur Moniac, in the Rue Quincampoise, opposite -to, etc.;--but it is needless to follow these details--in fact I only -quote a few words as a sample of Hellot’s innumerable recipes for -colours. This blue enamel, for it is an enamel, and not painted _sous -couverte_ like the old Vincennes blue, is composed of ‘_aigue-marine_’ -(some preparation of copper) three parts, Gravant’s glaze one part, and -of minium one and a third parts. The ingredients are melted together, _à -très grand feu_, and the resultant glass finely powdered. ‘This powder -is dusted through a silk sieve, upon the _mordant_ that has been applied -to the surface of the already glazed porcelain. The piece is then heated -in the “painter’s stove” (the muffle). The first layer of colour comes -out sometimes crackled, and always irregular (_mal unie_). To make the -enamel uniform, the piece is again coated and again passed through the -painter’s stove.’ Not only the strength and quality of the enamel, but -its tint also, vary much, even in pieces dating from the best period; -some examples tend more to green than others. In the more brilliant and -intense examples of the _bleu céleste_, to give the colour its old or -one of its old names, the ground on close examination appears to be more -or less mottled, darker clots, as it were, floating about in a lighter -medium. Indeed some such ‘texture’ seems to be necessary to bring out -the full effect and brilliancy in the case of other glazes and -transparent enamels on porcelain, and to its absence the dull and -‘uninteresting’ aspect of much of our modern porcelain may be -attributed. - - -ROSE POMPADOUR.--We have seen that the various shades of pink derived -from gold (see the note on p. 284) had for some time been used in the -decoration of porcelain, but that the recipes for them were regarded as -precious trade secrets. The _rose carnée_, or _Pompadour_[191] (often -wrongly called _rose du Barry_), belongs to this class. The credit of -its first successful employment as a uniform ground-colour is probably -due to the chemist Hellot.[192] This colour was in use at Sèvres for -only a short period of years, say between 1753 and 1763. The dated -specimens in the Wallace collection range between 1754 and 1759. One is -almost tempted to associate its sudden disappearance with some whim of -Madame de Pompadour; perhaps having in her possession nearly all that -had been made, she wished to ‘corner the market.’ The manufacture seems -to have ceased _before_ her death (1764), and afterwards the - -[Illustration: _PLATE XXXIX._ SÈVRES] - -secret was lost. The _rose carnée_ ground is often associated with one -of apple-green, but the combination is not a very pleasing one. - -Great attention has always been paid to the GILDING at Sèvres. When -applied heavily to the handles and feet of vases, it replaces, in some -measure, the ormolu mounts. So, when surrounding the little pictures -painted on the _cartels_ of vases and bowls, or on the centre of plates, -this gilding represents in position and design the gold frame of the -period. At the time of the reorganisation of the works in 1753 we find, -along with Bachelier and Duplessis, a certain Frère Hippolyte, a -Benedictine monk, mentioned as the possessor of secret processes of -gilding, and he was well paid for his periodical visits to the works. -Bachelier, writing in 1781, has a note protesting against the excessive -employment of gold. The prohibition of its use at other porcelain -factories at this time was based, he says, on ‘economic grounds,’ that -the metal might not be lost for commerce. ‘This enormous expenditure of -gold,’ he protests, ‘is the more revolting, inasmuch as it is in bad -taste.’ Bachelier distinguishes the ‘_or bruni en effet_’ from the ‘_or -bruni en totalité_.’ By the use of the first, in opposition both to the -unburnished and to the plain polished gold, it was intended to imitate -chiselled metal (the ormolu mounts), and this method of burnishing, we -are told, should be confined to large vases which are not subjected to -any wear and tear by cleaning or otherwise. The gold, in all cases, was -simply sprinkled on without the admixture of any flux, and the -burnishing was carried out chiefly by women in a special department of -the works. This burnishing was effected _au clou_, that is, by means of -a stump of iron inserted at the end of a stick. Agate burnishers were -not introduced till a later period. Great pressure was required in the -earlier method, resulting in deeply incised lines, and there is less -uniformity of surface than where the agate is used. - - -The JEWELLED SÈVRES has never found much favour in France, and the only -name the French have for this decoration--_porcelaine ornée d’émaux_--is -not very distinctive. A transparent, glassy, or sometimes an opaque -enamel of very brilliant tint is applied in the form of little beads -standing out in relief and set in gold mountings. This application of -‘_appliqués_ gems in chased gold setting,’ unless used with great -delicacy and moderation, produces a tawdry and overloaded effect, above -all when applied upon coloured grounds. But when these little -‘paste-jewels’ are set upon the soft white of the Sèvres _pâte tendre_ -the result is sometimes very pleasing. On a cup and saucer belonging to -Mr. Currie, now at South Kensington, the ruby and turquoise jewels are -connected by branches of gold overlaid with a transparent green enamel -(PL. XL.). On the other hand, on a large ewer and basin of turquoise, -with a decoration of gold, in the ‘Londonderry Cabinet’ at Hertford -House, which has the date-letter for 1768, the original design is -capriciously overlaid by a series of jewelled chains which (if we are to -trust the date-mark on the ewer) must certainly have been added at a -later time. Indeed the manufacture of this jewelled ware seems to have -been confined to the years 1780-86. - -When a school of painting was first established at Sèvres, it was to the -fan-painters and to the miniature-painters in enamel that Bachelier -turned for assistance, and we can detect the mannerisms peculiar to -these two schools in the decoration of some of the earlier pieces made -at Sèvres. - - -MARKS.--By the royal decree of 1753, from which - -[Illustration: _PLATE XL._ JEWELLED SÈVRES] - -we have already quoted, it was ordered that all pieces should be marked -with the well-known royal cipher, the double L, and that a letter-mark -indicating the year should be added (PL. D. 56). The single letters of -the alphabet carry us from 1753 to 1776; after that double letters were -used till 1793, when the king’s initial was replaced by the letters R. -F., with the addition of the word Sèvres. A mark of this latter kind was -in use till the end of the century, after which time no more soft paste -was made. - -Each artist marked his work with a monogram or a private sign, often -suggested by a play upon the syllables of his name, as in the case of -the canting arms of heraldry. For example, ‘2000’ (vingtcents) was -adopted by Vincent, the famous gilder; a branch of a tree by Dubois; -and, more strangely still, a triangle, the sign of the Trinity, by an -artist named Dieu. These marks were placed underneath, or by the side -of, the royal cipher. The marks of more than a hundred artists have been -identified from the records kept at Sèvres--painters of flowers, -garlands, landscapes, marines, genre-subjects, and finally gilders. A -complete list of these men, with their marks, may be found in Garnier, -Chaffers, and other writers on the subject. - -The manufacture of true kaolinic porcelain was begun in 1769, but the -soft paste continued to be made for another thirty years, side by side -with the new ware. It was not till the year 1804 that it was finally -abandoned by Brongniart, the new director. He found the soft-paste ware -unsuitable for the big pieces now ordered by the Imperial Government. -The paste was difficult to work, the preparation was expensive, and the -dust formed both from the paste and from the lead glaze was injurious to -the health of the workmen. One or two attempts have since been made at -Sèvres to revive the old ware, but they have fallen through in every -case. - -Brongniart, in 1804, to provide funds for the impoverished works and to -pay the arrears of wages to the workmen, threw on the market the large -stock of plain white soft paste that had accumulated in the magazine. -Now at that time there were in Paris many skilled porcelain painters, -some of them ex-employés at Sèvres, and others, men who made a living by -painting on the plain ware sent from Limoges and other factories. These -‘chambrelans’ (they painted at home, _en chambre_, and corresponded to -our English ‘chamberers’) were now employed by the dealers who had -eagerly bought up the ware that Brongniart had parted with.[193] They -painted and gilt this white ware in imitation of the Sèvres porcelain of -the best period so successfully that the services they turned out have -found their way into royal collections. This ware, in fact, forms a -group by itself, quite apart from the later imitations of the _pâte -tendre_, which, in every degree of merit and demerit, are now found in -the china-shops of Europe and America. M. Garnier points out three signs -by which this pseudo-Sèvres may be recognised: 1. The green prepared -from the newly introduced chromium is of a warm yellowish tint, and -displays none of the submetallic tints so often to be seen in enamels -coloured by copper, as in the _famille verte_ of China. 2. The gold on -this bastard ware, burnished with an agate polisher, differs in quality -of surface from the old gilding worked _au clou_. 3. The date-marks and -painters’ monograms were copied at hazard from the old pieces--at that -time no list of these marks had been made public--so that, for example, -the monogram of a gilder may be found on a piece decorated in colours -only. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE HARD-PASTE PORCELAIN OF SÈVRES AND PARIS - - -The soft paste of Sèvres, even during the period of the fifties and -sixties, when the most exquisite ware was being made, seems always to -have been regarded somewhat as a make-shift, to be employed until the -materials for making a true porcelain should be discovered in France. -For it was the ignorance of the true nature of kaolin, and where to look -for it, that so fortunately delayed its introduction at Sèvres. As early -as the Vincennes days, one of the Hannongs of Strassburg had offered to -sell his secret, and this offer was repeated at a later time by himself -and by his son. At Sèvres, before 1760, two German workmen were retained -to teach the Saxon process, but the materials had still to be obtained -from Germany. - -Meantime Macquer, who had succeeded to the post of scientific adviser on -the death of Hellot, had been experimenting on his own account, and -above all encouraging others to search for the precious white earth -within French territory. At length, in 1760, some samples were sent from -Alençon, from which a true porcelain was made, but of poor quality and -of a grey colour. Outside the Sèvres works the younger Hannong had set -up a factory at Vincennes, and the Comte de Brancas Lauraguais, whom we -shall meet with again in England, had by 1764 begun his experiments and -his search after deposits of kaolin. There still exist a few -portrait-medallions moulded in hard porcelain, which, on the ground of -the letters B. L. engraved on the back, have been attributed to that -energetic nobleman. - -The introduction, however, of the hard-paste porcelain at Sèvres dates -from the discovery, in 1768, at Saint-Yrieix, near Limoges, of those -famous deposits of kaolin which have ever since that time been the main -resource of the French porcelain industry.[194] Before the end of the -year 1769 Macquer was able to show to the king the first samples of this -new ware. The hard paste made for some years after this date was not of -the ‘severe’ type adopted later on. Not only did it contain as much as 9 -per cent. of lime, but, the kaolin employed being less pure, contained -probably a good deal of mica--in fact, this first type of French hard -paste approached in composition that of the Chinese. It is even more -important to note that the glaze used at the same time was of an -entirely different nature from the pure felspathic covering afterwards -adopted. It was composed of Fontainebleau sand 40 per cent., potsherds -of hard porcelain 48 per cent., and chalk 12 per cent. As a result, it -was possible to decorate the surface with brilliant translucent enamels -of some thickness. - -It was the introduction of the felspathic glaze in 1780 that gave the -final blow to the effective decoration of Sèvres porcelain. This glaze -is made by simply fusing a natural rock (pegmatite) consisting of a -mixture of potash felspar with a small quantity of quartz. The ease with -which this glaze can be prepared, its hardness and uniformity of -surface, led to its universal adoption not only at Sèvres but in the -porcelain works of the Limoges district that have for the last hundred -years supplied France with ordinary domestic wares--for such use its -hardness renders it eminently suitable. But, as we have said, this -combination of refractory paste and hard glaze is incompatible with any -brilliancy of decorative effect, the enamel colours are quite unable to -incorporate themselves with subjacent glaze, they lie dull and dead on -the surface, and the faults of the German porcelain are exaggerated. - -So with the paste, a much harder and more refractory type was introduced -at the beginning of the next century, and (apart from the recent partial -introduction of a milder type for special purposes) this type has -remained in use to the present day. The lime in Brongniart’s new paste -was reduced to 5 per cent., while the amount of kaolin (65 per cent.) is -probably greater than in any other porcelain. There has been a reaction -lately at Sèvres against this refractory ware, but the old formulas are -still employed for the porcelain made for practical domestic use. When, -however, brilliancy of effect and artistic decoration are aimed at, a -completely new type both of paste and glaze has been in use since the -year 1880, and concomitantly with the imitation of the Chinese -monochrome wares, an attempt has been made to follow as closely as -possible the pastes and glazes of the Chinese. M. Vogt, the present -technical director at Sèvres, who has had so much to do with these -changes, gives the following formula for the composition of the new -porcelain: kaolin 38 per cent., felspar 38 per cent., quartz 24 per -cent. The lime, it will be seen, has been completely eliminated from the -paste; on the other hand, the glaze contains as much as 33 per cent. of -the _Craie de Bougival_. - -It would be a dreary task to enter with any detail into the history of -the Sèvres works during the hundred years following the first -introduction of the hard paste. This period is associated in most minds -with the colossal vases that are to be found in so many of the palaces -and museums of Europe. To judge from these examples, it would seem that -the chief object both of the design and the decoration was to conceal as -far as possible the nature of the material used in their composition. -You have first to persuade yourself that you are looking at something -made of porcelain: once convinced of this, you marvel at the technical -difficulties that have been overcome in its manufacture, but what it -never even occurs to one to look for in these monstrous vases, is any -trace of that beauty of surface and brilliancy of decoration that we are -accustomed to associate with the substance of which they are composed. - -The ‘Medici Vase’ now in the Louvre is probably the earliest of this -long series. This vase dates from the year 1783, and it is nearly seven -feet in height. But it was in the pseudo-classical style of the empire, -when encouraged by Napoleon’s love of the gigantic, and by his desire -‘_à faire parler la porcelaine_,’[195] that this new application of -porcelain found its full expression. It is then that we find vases, -candelabra, _surtouts de table_ and clocks, in styles distinguished as -Egyptian, Etruscan, Imperial, and Olympian. After this we can follow the -decline of taste in the succeeding _régimes_ till, with the total -extinction of all feeling for harmony of colour and unity of -composition, we are landed--in the reign of the ‘bourgeois king’--in the -style or absence of style which is the French equivalent of our ‘Early -Victorian.’ - -There is one name above all others that is associated, at Sèvres, with -this long period, that of Alexandre Brongniart, who was director of the -works from the year 1804 until his death in 1847. The son of a -well-known architect, and himself a fellow-worker with Cuvier, he -attained some distinction both as a geologist and as a chemist. It was -indeed from the point of view of a man of science that he approached the -subject of ceramics,--as a geologist to examine the position and -stratigraphical relation of any material suitable for fictile purposes, -as a chemist to analyse these materials and to discover fresh metallic -combinations suitable for glazes and enamels. - -It was at this time, and chiefly under the influence of Brongniart,[196] -that the palette of the enameller was enlarged by the introduction of so -many new colours, the employment of which gives a new _cachet_ to the -decoration of the nineteenth century. Perhaps the most important advance -was in the employment of oxide of zinc in the flux, by means of which -the colours of many metallic oxides are developed and sometimes altered. -The green derived from chromium is essentially a nineteenth century -colour, and as it resists the highest temperature this green can be -used, like the cobalt blue, as an under-glaze colour. From the chromate -of lead an orange-red is obtained--the _rouge cornalia_, a crude and -dangerous colour, and one that does not withstand high temperatures. An -orange-yellow from uranium, and a deep and uniform black from iridium, -were also introduced at this time or not long afterwards. The ‘English -pink,’ the lilac tint so extensively used in the transfer-printing of -earthenware, was successfully imitated by adding a small quantity of -oxide of chromium to a flux containing oxides of tin, lime, and alumina. -The celadon green of Sèvres is derived, not from the protoxide of iron, -but from the sesqui-oxide of chromium, with the addition of a minute -quantity of copper. - -Brongniart’s great work, the _Traité des Arts Céramiques_, still remains -our main authority on the technical and scientific side of the art of -the potter, and it was he who, by establishing the museum and -organising the laboratories at Sèvres, made that town a centre for all -who are interested not only in the special branch of porcelain, but in -the whole field of ceramic art. The position established by him has been -well maintained by his successors, by Salvétat, by Ebelmen, by Deck, and -at the present time by MM. Lauth and Vogt on the technical side--above -all by Édouard Garnier, the present director of the Sèvres Museum.[197] -These men have succeeded, in spite of much opposition, in again bringing -the national manufactory of porcelain at least on to a level with the -artistic movement of the day. - -In tracing the history of the Sèvres porcelain during the last hundred -years and more we can find at least one interesting aspect--we can -follow the steps by which the ware has responded to the social and -political changes that have followed one another in France during that -time. The affectation of simple and homely tastes, and the sentimental -tone fashionable in society during the years preceding the Revolution, -are reflected in both the forms and the painting of the ware then made. -The classical spirit that already in the time of Louis XVI. had found a -place alongside of these idyllic aspirations somewhat later, under the -lead of David, ruled every form of art. The various phases of the -Revolution are reflected in the decoration of the porcelain, which even -became a means of political propaganda. At the Hôtel Carnavalet, the -museum at Paris consecrated to the history of the city, the political -changes of this period may be traced in a series of plates and cups, -some of them of Sèvres porcelain, decorated with emblems and allegorical -figures relating first to the liberal monarchy of the early years of the -Revolution, and then in the sterner days of the Convention (when indeed -the existence of the works was only saved by the presence of mind of -the minister Paré) to the patriotic efforts of the leaders, and to the -successes of the republican armies. Portraits of the heroes of the -national assemblies and of the clubs, surmounted by caps of liberty and -framed in arrangements of pikes and drums, replaced the nymphs and -flowers of an earlier period, and even the guillotine, it is said, has -found a place in the decoration. A few years later the military element -was even more predominant. Eagles and thunderbolts, surrounded by -trophies of war, battle-scenes and the entry into Paris of the -victorious legions, commemorate the conquests of Napoleon. - -After the Restoration the decoration of the gigantic vases, each new one -overtopping its predecessor, became more and more pictorial. To obtain a -better field for this pictorial display the greatest pains were taken to -produce large plaques of porcelain, some as much as four feet in length, -on which a school of accomplished artists painted laborious -reproductions of famous pictures, ancient and modern. Not a few of these -enamel-painters, at this time, came from Geneva, and some of the ablest -were ladies. Many remarkable specimens of this misdirected skill may be -seen in the Sèvres Museum, and also in a room of the picture-gallery at -Turin. - -Under the republican _régime_ that succeeded the revolution of 1848, it -was again proposed for a moment to sever the connection with the State, -but with the establishment of the second empire a fresh life was given -to the manufactory, on the appointment of Dieterle, an artist of repute, -to the directorship. Some new developments were now attempted, -especially in the introduction of coloured pastes. It was only after -many fruitless attempts that any results were obtained by this new -system. It is indeed a process quite foreign to the nature of porcelain, -and even when technically successful the result is far from -satisfactory. At a later time, however, the experience gained by the -experiments of Salvétat enabled a potter of great skill and some feeling -for art to employ the coloured pastes with greater simplicity and better -effect. M. Solon, since so well known in England, was the most -successful worker in this material. The decoration in his hands took the -form of a white slip, or _barbotine_, laid on a coloured ground. After -firing, the light and shade of the design is brought out by the varying -thickness of the now translucent coating, which allows more or less of -the coloured ground to be seen through it. In spite of its delicacy and -refinement the effect of this work is somewhat effete, both in style and -colour. In inferior hands, working with poorer material, the result is -deplorable. - -At the present time, after experiments with many materials--the -crystalline glazes made with bismuth were at one time in favour--it is -to the production of artistic effects by means of single glazes that the -greatest attention is given at Sèvres, following more or less in the -lines of the _flambé_ wares of China. Not long since, a proposal was -again made in the Chamber of Deputies that the support of the Government -should be withdrawn from the factory. It is said that a timely report in -an English paper to the effect that, in such a case, the works would be -run by an Anglo-American syndicate, had not a little to do with the -defeat of this motion. - - -LESSER PARISIAN FACTORIES OF HARD PASTE.--In spite of the numerous -edicts and proclamations by which it was attempted to maintain the -monopoly of the royal works at Sèvres, there were in Paris, in the time -of Louis XVI., a number of private factories, some of them under the -patronage of members of the royal family. - -It was in Paris that Brancas Lauraguais, as early as 1758, made his -experiments with kaolin, and here, in the Saint-Lazare district, one of -the Hannong family (Pierre Antoine, of the third generation, the same -who had lately failed at Vincennes) made porcelain after the German -style, perhaps before 1770. These works were patronised at a later day -by the king’s brother, the Comte d’Artois. - -Again, in 1773, one Locré started in the Rue Fontaine au Roi the -‘_manufacture de porcelaine Allemande de la Courtille_.’ His marks of -arrows (PL. D. 59), torches, or later, ears of wheat, crossed in -imitation of the Saxon swords, are found on ware of some artistic merit. - -But perhaps the most remarkable of the Parisian factories was that -started at Clignancourt, in 1775, by Pierre Deruelle, under the powerful -protection of Monsieur (the king’s brother, afterwards Louis XVIII.). -The royal edicts (as indeed was often the case elsewhere) against the -use of gold were ignored in this case, and the Sèvres ware--the simpler -forms then in fashion--was cleverly imitated. The earlier mark, a -windmill (PL. D. 61), pointed to the famous _moulin_ on the neighbouring -Montmartre. At a later time the letter M, under a crown, referred to the -royal patron. - -The queen herself took under her patronage the factory started in 1778 -by Lebœuf in the Rue Thiroux. This is the ‘_Porcelaine de la Reine_,’ -marked with the letter A under a crown (PL. D. 62), often decorated with -leaves and little sprigs of the _barbeau_, the cornflower, then so much -in fashion. These flowers, indeed, may be found on many other wares, -English and French, about this time. - -The Duc d’Angoulême was the patron of the works started in 1780, in the -Rue de Bondy. It is noteworthy that this factory survived, still under -the original founders, Guerhard and Dihl, to the days of Louis XVIII. -Dihl was, as it were, a forerunner of Brongniart, being the first potter -in France to employ the newly discovered colours derived from rarer -metallic bases. The Rue de Bondy factory had also the credit of -producing elaborate copies of pictures on plaques of porcelain before -such things were attempted at Sèvres. - -The factory established in 1784 at the Pont aux Choux is chiefly -remarkable for the patronage of the Duc d’Orléans, Philippe Égalité. -Starting with the brother of Louis XIV., whose arms are found on -gigantic vases of ‘old Japan,’ this was the fifth member of the Orleans -family who had interested himself with porcelain, in one way or another. - -I have only mentioned a few of the more important Parisian factories. -Franks, in his _Catalogue of Continental Porcelain_, gives a list of -seventeen works. Examples of most of these may be found either in the -Franks collection or in that of Mr. Fitzhenry. - -After the Restoration the work done in Paris became more and more -confined to the decoration of porcelain made elsewhere. A special -industry--for such it may well be called--was the imitation of older -wares, both Oriental and European. For this somewhat ambiguous work the -Samson family has acquired a European reputation. - -At the present day many more or less amateur potter-artists are working -in Paris. Specimens of their work may be studied in the yearly _salons_. -It is no uncommon thing to see--in the neighbourhood of the Panthéon, -for instance--a notice in a window pointing out to those interested, -that a kiln for porcelain or fayence will be fired at such and such a -date. - -During the last hundred years Limoges has become more and more the -centre of the porcelain industry of France. A very hard, refractory -porcelain is here made from the excellent kaolin of Saint-Yrieix, and -this ware not only occupies in France the position of our Staffordshire -earthenware and semi-porcelain, but competes with these wares in the -markets of the world. One of the largest works was started some years -ago with American capital, and the United States, until lately, drew -their principal supplies of porcelain from this district.[198] It is to -a chemist attached to one of these factories, to M. Dubreuil, that we -are indebted for our best account of the technical and chemical -processes employed at the present day in the manufacture and decoration -of porcelain (see the work quoted on p. 15). At Limoges there is a -ceramic museum, the most important in France after that at Sèvres, the -contents of which have been described by M. E. Garnier in a catalogue -which, as far as continental porcelain is concerned, has, so far, no -rival.[199] - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE SOFT AND HYBRID PORCELAINS OF ITALY AND SPAIN - - -The porcelain made in Italy in the eighteenth century is not of much -importance either from a technical or an artistic point of view. With -the exception of the Capo di Monte ware and its imitations, examples are -rarely found in English collections. On the whole the decoration is poor -in effect, and closely follows in the wake of the German wares. This is -the case at least with most of the porcelain made in the north of Italy. -Following, probably unconsciously, the example of the early Medici ware, -the refractory element in the eighteenth-century porcelain of Italy has -generally been found in a natural kaolinic clay which here replaces the -quartz-sand and the lime of the French soft paste, and it is this -peculiarity in their composition which led Brongniart to form a special -class for what he called the hybrid pastes of Italy. - - -VENICE.--There is, as we have seen, strong evidence that porcelain was -made in Venice in the sixteenth century, but such evidence is, -unfortunately, only documentary. We are in almost as bad a position when -we come to the ware manufactured in the city, perhaps as early as 1720, -by the Vezzi, a family of lately ennobled goldsmiths (see Sir W. R. -Drake, _Notes on Venetian Ceramics_, London, 1868, privately printed). -This - -[Illustration: _PLATE XLI._ 1 AND 2--VENETIAN, BLUE AND WHITE -3--MEISSEN 4--FRANKENTHAL, LILAC AND GOLD] - -ware was made by Saxon workmen with clay obtained from Saxony. To this -factory, however, we can safely attribute the tall cup and saucer, with -the arms of Benedict XIII. (1724-30), and the mark ‘Ven^a’ (PL. D. 63), -in the Franks collection (No. 446). - -At this time Hunger, the Saxon painter and gilder, was in Venice. He was -already back at Meissen in 1725, and Dr. Brinckmann thinks that he may -have brought back from Venice the process of passing the gilding through -the muffle, which about that time replaced, at Meissen, the older plan -of ‘lac-gilding.’ The Vezzi works were closed in 1740, and not till 1758 -do we hear of fresh attempts to imitate the Meissen ware. This time it -was a Saxon family driven out from Meissen by the war, one Hewelcke and -his wife, who set up a short-lived factory in which they attempted to -make porcelain ‘_ad uso di Sassonia_.’ - -It was probably with the assistance of Hewelcke that Geminiano Cozzi in -1764 established the porcelain works where (as we learn from the report -drawn up by the _Inquisitor alle Arti_ a few years later) he gave -employment to forty-five workmen. Cozzi made porcelain ‘_ad uso di -Giappone_,’ much of which was exported to Trieste and the Levant.[200] -This ware, decorated in Oriental style, must have been made exclusively -for the trade with the East, for, to judge from the specimens in our -museums, it was rather the ware of Meissen than that of Imari that Cozzi -took as his model. We find on his porcelain small views, especially -coast-scenes and ports, outlined in black and gold; again, on tea-and -coffee-services, flower-pieces and _chinoiseries_. He turned out also -some biscuit and glazed statuettes of considerable merit. Cozzi’s -factory survived until 1812. An anchor in red, larger than that used at -Chelsea, and of a different shape, is the mark usually found on this -china[201] (PL. D. 64). - - -LE NOVE.--A Venetian family, the Antonibon, had early in the eighteenth -century established an important manufactory of majolica at Le Nove, -near Bassano. Later on they turned their attention to porcelain and, -after the year 1760, Pasquale Antonibon produced some successful ware -marked with a star (PL. D. 65). One or two well modelled and carefully -finished specimens of this porcelain at South Kensington show the -influence of both Meissen and Sèvres. These works were in operation as -late as 1825. - - -VINOVO.--In the royal castle of Vinovo or Vineuf, near Turin, some -unsuccessful endeavours to manufacture porcelain were made with the help -of one of the younger Hannongs of Strassburg. A Turin doctor, Vittore -Amadeo Gioanetti, who had already made numerous experiments with the -clays and rocks of the district, met with better success about 1780. The -paste of this ware contains a considerable amount of silicate of -magnesia, obtained from a deposit of magnesite discovered in the -neighbourhood by the doctor.[202] This hybrid ware is more easily -fusible than a true porcelain, but it resists well rapid variations of -temperature. The usual mark is the letter V surmounted by the cross of -the house of Savoy (PL. D. 66). - - -CAPO DI MONTE.--Here in the northern suburbs of Naples, just beneath the -Royal Palace, an important factory of soft-paste porcelain was -established in 1742. Don Carlos, of Bourbon-Farnese extraction, had -recently exchanged his dukedom of Parma for the throne of the Two -Sicilies. In 1738 he had married a Saxon princess, but there is little -sign of any German influence either in the design or composition of the -ware made at his new porcelain factory at Capo di Monte. Like his cousin -at Versailles at a later date, he took the keenest interest in the sale -of his porcelain. An annual fair was held in front of the palace, and a -large purchase there was a sure passport to the favour of the king, who -is even said to have worked as a potter himself. When in 1759 Don Carlos -succeeded to the throne of Spain as Charles III., he, as it were, -carried his porcelain works with him, taking away the best workmen, so -that little of interest was made at Naples after that date. - -To this earlier period belong the plain white pieces often in imitation -of sea-shells, or again resting on a heap of smaller shells moulded -probably from nature (a very similar ware was made at Bow and other -English factories). We find also highly coloured statuettes and groups -of figures. But the name of Capo di Monte is associated above all with -another style of decoration. The surface of the ware in this case is -covered by groups of figures, mythological subjects by preference, and -by vegetation, moulded in low relief and delicately coloured. This was -the ware imitated at Doccia in later days, and also, it would seem, at -Herend, in Hungary. But perhaps the most characteristic pieces then made -at Naples are the little detached figures, generally grotesques, -delicately modelled and painted (PL. XLII.). - -In this Capo di Monte porcelain we may note generally the prevalence of -extreme rococo forms. The glaze of the white ware has a pleasant warm -tone resembling that of some of the Fukien porcelain, which may in part -have served as a model. - -When the factory was re-established first at Portici and then again at -Naples, a very different influence is perceptible. There is a service at -Windsor presented by the King of Naples to George III. in 1787, -decorated with ‘_peintures Hetrusques_,’ that is to say, with -reproductions of antiques in the Museo Borbonico. This later ware -generally bears as a mark an N surmounted by a crown. - - -DOCCIA.--The interest of the factory at Doccia, some five miles to the -west of Florence, where majolica and many varieties of porcelain have -been made for the last one hundred and seventy years, centres round the -Ginori family. The founder of those works, the Marchese Carlo -Ginori,[203] who belonged to an old Florentine family, was sent, in -1737, by the Grand Duke on a diplomatic mission to the Emperor Francis -I. He had already, at his villa near Sesto, succeeded in making some -imitations of Oriental porcelain, and on his return from Vienna he -brought back with him the arcanist Carl Wandhelein. With his assistance -Ginori was able in a short time to turn out some well modelled -statuettes. The paste, however, was not very white or uniform, and the -larger pieces are generally disfigured by fissures. To this time belongs -probably a large statuette of a crouching Venus at South Kensington. -This kind of ware had its inspiration, no doubt, in the ambitious -attempts to replace the works of the sculptor with which the Meissen -factory was occupied about this time. Ginori was soon after appointed -Governor of Leghorn,[204] and he is said to have despatched a vessel to -China expressly to bring back the kaolin of that country. - -[Illustration: _PLATE XLII._ 1, 2 AND 3--CAPO DI MENTE 4--DOCCIA] - -The works at Doccia and the schools and museums attached to them are -frequently referred to by our eighteenth century travellers. There -appears to have been a period of decline, as was not unnatural, during -the Napoleonic wars, but by the early part of the nineteenth century the -factory at Doccia had become one of the most important in Europe. On the -death of the founder, in 1757, the works had been carried on by his son -Lorenzo, and he in his turn was succeeded by Carlo Leopoldo, who -introduced a new type of furnace. This remarkable dynasty of noble -potters has carried on the Doccia works to the present day. - -Beside a large outturn of enamelled fayence and of hard porcelain, _ad -uso di Francia_, a milder or hybrid type of paste has been largely made, -and the materials have been obtained from many sources, native and -foreign. The dealers’ shops in Italy have been inundated with imitations -of the old majolica, and with the help of moulds obtained from the -moribund Capo di Monte works, close imitations of that ware have long -been made at Doccia. Indeed the bulk of the porcelain decorated with -mythological figures in low relief (more especially the larger pieces so -often seen in dealers’ shops and in salerooms) has its origin in Tuscany -rather than at Naples. - -The mark, a star formed of two superimposed triangles, is derived from -the arms of the family, but this mark has often been omitted. - -In the eighteenth century many kinds of ware were imitated; the plain -white porcelain is, however, the most interesting, such as the already -mentioned statuettes and the imitations of the Fukien ware, specimens of -which were sent by Sir Horace Mann to Walpole in 1760. This kind of ware -is whiter and of a more dead aspect than that made at Naples and at Buen -Retiro. In the Franks collection are specimens from an interesting -series of small medallions with portraits of the grand ducal and other -families, in white relief on a grey-blue ground. These were made at -Doccia, probably towards the end of the eighteenth century. - - -SPAIN - -BUEN RETIRO.--During the sixteenth century we have frequent references -to the importation of Oriental porcelain into the Peninsula--the white -ware of Fukien is said to have been above all prized. In the seventeenth -century we find Portuguese travelling merchants selling porcelain at the -fair of St. Germain, and we hear that their stalls were visited by -people of quality from Paris. (_Cf._ p. 230.) - -But this ware of the Far East has left little or no mark upon the -fayence or porcelain made in Spain. In the former, at least, the -influence of the nearer Saracenic East has always remained -predominant.[205] The porcelain fever that raged at times in the rest of -Europe seems to have left Spain untouched until the advent of the -half-French, half-Italian king in 1759. Charles III., who abandoned his -Neapolitan throne in that year to succeed his brother as King of Spain, -was on the whole the best of the many descendants of Louis XIV. who -ruled in France, Spain, and Italy in the eighteenth century. We have -seen that he was an enthusiastic potter, and his first care, even before -leaving Naples, was to see to the transhipping to Spain of practically -the whole of the staff, to say nothing of the moulds and other -appliances in use at the Capo di Monte factory. Don Juan Riaño, in his -_Handbook of Spanish Arts_, gives the names of nineteen modellers and -fourteen painters who sailed for Alicante in a vessel specially -chartered for this purpose. Among these Italian emigrants two names are -worthy of mention--Buonicelli--he and his son after him superintended -the new works till the end of the century--and Gricci (there were three -men of this name among the modellers), the designer of the famous -porcelain chamber at Aranjuez. - -The new factory, known as La China, was erected in the garden of the -Buen Retiro, a palace in the suburbs of Madrid. Here for the next thirty -years, that is until the death of Charles III. in 1788, supported by a -large yearly grant, and surrounded by the strictest secrecy, was made -the porcelain destined for the decoration of the royal palaces and for -presentation to other courts. Only in the time of Joseph, Napoleon’s -brother, and of Ferdinand VII., was the ware from the royal works -allowed to come into the market, and this was at a period of decline. -The Buen Retiro gardens were the scene of desperate fighting between the -English and the French in the year 1812, during which the porcelain -works were completely destroyed. - -We hear, at the commencement, of quarrels between the Spanish and -Italian workmen, and of breakdowns in the kilns. But Charles and his -director, Buonicelli, must soon have surmounted the preliminary -difficulties, for already, during the years 1763 to 1765 (as we learn -from an inscription on one of the slabs), Giuseppe Gricci was occupied -in decorating the porcelain chamber, the famous _Gabineto_ of the palace -at Aranjuez, which surpassed in magnificence the earlier room of the -same description at Portici. The large plaques which surround this -chamber are decorated with groups of Japanese figures in high relief, -carefully modelled and painted. Between these plaques rise tall -looking-glasses brought from the king’s new glass-works at La Granja, -and the porcelain frames of these mirrors are elaborately decorated with -fruits and flowers. There is another of these porcelain cabinets in the -Royal Palace at Madrid; this time the plaques are ornamented with -children in high relief. Here and in the other Spanish palaces, at -Aranjuez, at La Granja, and at the Escurial, may still be seen vases of -porcelain from Buen Retiro, some of them six or seven feet in height. -These vases are often set in gilt bronze mountings and filled with -branches of porcelain flowers. - -Among the specimens of Spanish porcelain that we see in English -collections, it is the plain white ware that interests us most. This is -of a very beautiful warm tint, and the vases are surrounded by _amorini_ -in full relief among flowers, or again by sea-shells modelled from -nature, as in the case of the Capo di Monte ware. But many other things -were made--imitations of Wedgwood, for example, white relief on a dull -blue ground. - -In its last days the factory fell under French influence, and an attempt -was made to imitate the hard paste of Sèvres with the aid of native -clays. It would seem that some of the paste made at an earlier time was -of a hybrid nature, containing magnesia, like that of Vinovo. - -The factory was re-established by Ferdinand VII. after his restoration, -at the Moncloa, near Madrid, but with little success. Close at hand, at -La Florida, near the well-known Paseo, an attempt has been lately made -to revive the works. Zuluaga, the famous metal-worker, has interested -himself in these new works, but the ware made is of little interest. - -The fleur-de-lis of the Bourbons, generally painted in blue under the -glaze, is the only mark that need be mentioned; it is probable that this -mark was already in use at Naples (PL. D. 67). - -At Alcora, in the province of Valencia, the Conde d’Aranda had -established an important factory of artistic fayence as early as the -year 1725. Aranda played no small part in the short-lived revival of -prosperity in Spain that followed the accession of Charles III. In 1764 -we find him sending to Dresden for an arcanist, and in 1774 he obtained -the services of a French expert, one Martin, from Sèvres. Each in his -turn covenanted with the count to make true porcelain, and we are told -that he sent specimens of his ware to his friend Voltaire at Ferney. Don -Juan Riaño gives a full account of this factory, but there do not seem -to be any specimens of Aranda’s wares in English collections that are -anything better than a fine fayence. - -In the Museo Arqueologico at Madrid there is a large collection of -porcelain and fayence from Buen Retiro, La Moncloa, Alcora, and -Talavera. - - -PORTUGAL.--Some hard-paste porcelain was made at Lisbon before the year -1775, and at Vista Alegre, near Oporto, the factory started about 1790 -is still carried on. Certain medallions of biscuit porcelain, in the -style of Wedgwood, have found their way into the Schreiber and Franks -collections. To judge from an inscription on a minute plaque suitable -for setting in a ring, in the latter collection, these medallions were -made at the Royal Arsenal at Lisbon in 1792. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -ENGLISH PORCELAIN - - -INTRODUCTION--THE SOFT-PASTE PORCELAIN OF CHELSEA AND BOW - -In spite of the considerable literature that has sprung up upon the -subject, we know little of the early history of English soft-paste -porcelain. - -We have already spoken of the experiments made by Dr. Dwight in the -seventeenth century. Dr. Lister, writing in 1699 (see above, p. 282), -shows a remarkable acquaintance with the technical qualities of various -kinds of porcelain: he speaks of ‘the inward Substance and Matter of the -Pots’ made at Saint-Cloud as the very same as that of the Chinese, ‘hard -and fine as Marble, and the self-same grain _on this side -vitrification_. Further, the transparency of the Pots the very same.’ He -had expected that at best they ‘might have arrived at the Gomron ware, -which is indeed little else but a total vitrification.’[206] The man who -wrote this must have been thoroughly acquainted with the physical -qualities of porcelain; he must already have made some study of the -subject. And yet not only at that time, but for the next forty-five -years, there is a total absence of any evidence, documentary or -practical, that porcelain was made anywhere in England.[207] - -Meantime new porcelain works were springing up in various parts of -Germany, and in France the factories of Saint-Cloud and Chantilly had -long been at work. It is indeed from a French document that we get our -first hint as to the existence of porcelain works in England before the -year 1745. In an ‘_arrest du Conseil d’État du Roy_’ of that year, by -which Charles Adam is authorised to establish a porcelain factory at -Vincennes, a note of alarm is sounded. ‘A new establishment that has -lately been founded in England for the manufacture of porcelain, which -appears by the nature of its composition more beautiful than that of -Saxony,’ will probably, so the document states, lead to the new English -ware replacing that of French origin (Marryat, p. 371). - -For one reason or another there appears to have been a great outburst of -interest in porcelain about the year 1745. The works at Bow were -probably started at that time. There are in existence dated pieces of -that year which were almost certainly made at Chelsea, and these were no -first efforts. As early as this, some porcelain figures may possibly -have been made at Derby,[208] so that we may perhaps take the ten years -preceding 1750 as the period during which the industry was obscurely -passing through its experimental stage. After this time, those who had -been first in the field reaped a good harvest, for during the next -decade the china mania was at its height, and afforded much material for -the satirical and comic writers of the day. - -To sum up the history of English porcelain in the eighteenth century, we -may take it that about the year 1740 the first attempts were made to -imitate the various kinds of Oriental and Continental porcelain that -were every year coming more and more into use; that by the year 1750 -several factories were at work; and finally, that by 1780 the best had -already been accomplished, and the decline had already begun. - -Taken as a whole, our English porcelain, whether of soft or hard paste, -shows little originality. From the point of view of design and -decoration we may divide the ware made during the eighteenth century -into two schools:-- - -(_a_) The Oriental school, the wares principally imitated being--1. The -white porcelain of Fukien, with decoration in relief, often of prunus -blossom. 2. ‘Blue and white,’ the blue under the glaze--this is often -combined with the previous class. 3. The earlier type of Imari, that -known at the time as ‘old Japan,’ or ‘partridge and wheatsheaf.’ 4. The -somewhat later type of Imari with brocaded pattern, what we _now_ call -‘old Japan.’ The enamelled wares of the great revival under Kang-he and -his successors, though valued by collectors both here and in France, -were less often copied. - -(_b_) The European school, which derived its inspiration from--1. The -early wares of Saint-Cloud, and later from those of Vincennes and -Sèvres. Speaking generally, the influence of Sèvres became predominant -after 1755, and to some extent ousted the earlier Oriental _motifs_. 2. -Dresden, which gave the type for the statuettes and also for the -elaborate painting of flowers and realistic landscapes on plates and -dishes. This German influence, favouring a dullish scheme of colour and -a ‘tight’ execution, was more apparent at an earlier and again at a -later period; during the best time, say from 1755 to 1770, it was -eclipsed by that of Sèvres. - -It must be remembered that England is the only country where porcelain -has been successfully made without royal or princely patronage. The -various kilns were here without exception founded as commercial -speculations--they were essentially the outcome of middle-class -enterprise. There was, it is true, at one time some question at Chelsea -of royal patronage, as represented by the Duke of Cumberland, but this -came to nothing. Some interest was taken and some advice given on the -artistic side by one or two great noblemen--by the third Duke of Argyll, -for instance, an admirer of the ‘Kakiyemon’ decoration--but the capital -to start and maintain the works came from the pockets of the more -enterprising and businesslike of the designers and decorators -themselves, men like Sprimont and Duesbury, assisted by local bankers, -merchants, and physicians. - -As a result, we find that a great feature in the commercial management, -one that was quite peculiar to our island, was formed by the annual -sales by auction, advertised beforehand in the local papers. It was by -careful search through these advertisements and through the old sale -catalogues that the late Mr. Nightingale was able to clear up some at -least of the difficulties and misconceptions that have surrounded the -history of English porcelain. The too ready acceptance of anecdotes and -‘pleasant stories,’ copied from one writer to another with occasional -embellishments, has been the cause of much confusion. These have -originated in many cases from the senile gossip of decayed workmen. The -same may be said of the disproportionate attention given to marks, to -which more care has been given than to a critical discrimination of the -differences that distinguish the paste, the glaze, and the decoration of -different wares. - -How little was known a few years ago about the composition of our -English porcelains is shown by the general acceptance of the statement -that Spode, about the year 1800, introduced the use of bone-ash. It is -now known that nearly fifty years before that time the use of a -phosphatic paste was general in England, and, according to Professor -Church, in ninety per cent. of the specimens in our collections -bone-ash is an essential constituent. Thus the one original discovery -that we can claim for our country was either forgotten or ignored. - -Apart from the hard porcelain of Plymouth and Bristol, our English -pastes may be divided into three classes. That first used was probably -copied as closely as possible from the pastes of Saint-Cloud and -Chantilly. It was a mixture of sand from Alum Bay and pipeclay from -Dorsetshire, with an amount of glass, in the form of a frit, sufficient -to ensure translucency. Before long the sand and clay were replaced in -great measure by bone-ash, and we get the ‘natural soft paste’ -especially characteristic of English eighteenth century porcelain. -Finally, at the beginning of the next century Spode replaced the glassy -frit by a mixture of kaolin and china-stone, retaining the bone-ash. A -paste of this type has been in use ever since. Thus, in the year 1840, -the ordinary commercial porcelain of Staffordshire, which in its origin -was a development of the artistic wares of the eighteenth century, was -made from Cornish kaolin 31 parts, Cornish china-stone 26 per cent., -flint 2·5 per cent., and ‘prepared bones’ 40·5 per cent.[209] The last -material is made from the roasted bones of oxen, now largely imported -for this purpose from South America. The glaze on the earlier wares was -essentially a silicate of lead and potash, compounded from white lead, -nitre, and salt. But at present a harder glaze is used for the -Staffordshire porcelain: it contains, in addition to the above -substances, a considerable quantity of china-stone and china-clay, -together with a little borax. - -Our English porcelain of the eighteenth century may be divided roughly -into five periods:-- - -1. The early or primitive period, very often characterised by Chinese, -and especially Japanese, schemes of decoration. Oriental wares are -closely copied, sometimes perhaps with the object of deception. The -paste, containing no bone-ash, is soft and very waxy in appearance. Much -of the ground is left unpainted, and there is no gilding. There is a -great uncertainty as to the place of manufacture of many of these early -pieces. - -2. The fine period--approximately 1755 to 1768--especially associated -with the name of Sprimont, at Chelsea. The influence of the contemporary -production at Sèvres is very marked. - -3. The Duesbury period, 1768 to 1786. Simple classical forms are -predominant at Chelsea and Derby. The rich decoration previously in use -at Chelsea is continued at Worcester, but applied to pieces of simpler -outline, the vases often copying Chinese forms. - -4. The early commercial period. The business firms at Derby and -Worcester almost monopolise the market. Somewhat later the factories in -the Severn valley form a link with the next period. - -5. The Staffordshire commercial period, equally commercial and -essentially eclectic. Everything is copied, and there is a constant -tendency to hark back to older types. - -It is possible that some such historical arrangement, combined with a -division according to types of decoration, might be made the basis of an -account of English porcelain; but it will be a safer course to follow -the usual topographical division, treating the different factories more -or less in the order of the date of their foundation. - - -CHELSEA.--The year 1745 is the earliest date to which any piece of -Chelsea ware can with certainty be assigned. The factory ceased to exist -as an independent seat of manufacture before 1770. In this short -interval there were apparently some years during which very little -china was made. It is thus essentially an early ware, and Horace Walpole -in his catalogue already speaks of ‘old Chelsea.’ - -We know absolutely nothing about the origin of the works. The Duke of -Buckingham, in the time of Charles II., is said to have been interested -in some glass-works in this neighbourhood, and to have brought over -workmen from Venice. The duke’s glass-houses were, however, more -probably at Lambeth. At any rate, at that time, the ‘cones,’ as the -glass-houses were called, appear to have been regarded as places -suitable equally for the making of glass or the firing of pottery--so at -least I glean from the terms of an advertisement in which some of these -‘cones’ are offered for sale. The origin of the well-known anchor-mark -of Chelsea has been sought in Venice, but, as far as porcelain is -concerned, it was probably in use at Chelsea at an earlier date than in -the latter town. - -Our knowledge of the existence of a factory at Chelsea before 1749 rests -on the survival of two little cream-jugs of white ware moulded in the -so-called ‘goat and bee’ pattern. Like some other pieces to which an -early date may be assigned, these little jugs bear as a mark a rough -triangle scratched in the paste (PL. E. 68), but they stand alone in the -fact that beneath the triangle has been added, _before baking_, in a -scrawly hand, ‘Chelsea, 1745.’[210] Thanks to them we are able, upon -material evidence, to put back the origin of English porcelain for five -years at least.[211] - -In the year 1747, we are told in the _London Tradesman_, that at a -house at Greenwich, and at another at Chelsea, _the undertakers had been -for some time trying_ to imitate the porcelain of China and Dresden, and -in the same year a number of Staffordshire potters migrated to London to -find work in the Chelsea factory (Shaw’s _Rise and Progress of the -Staffordshire Potteries_). In a London paper of December 1749 there is -an advertisement of the sale of a freehold messuage in ‘Great China Row, -Chelsea.’ This was no mere misprint--China for Cheyne--(the two words -were pronounced alike at that time), for we come across the same -spelling in more than one instance at a later date.[212] There is a real -confusion of the two names, arising probably from the interest taken in -the porcelain factory lately established in the neighbourhood; and this -very confusion is good evidence of the extent to which the china -question was occupying people’s minds at the time. - -Two months later, in January 1750, we hear for the first time of Mr. -Charles Gouyn, but he is already, at that date, the _late_ proprietor -and chief manager of the ‘Chelsea House.’ Of this Gouyn, presumably the -founder of the works, we know nothing. He was probably of French or -Belgian origin.[213] Of Gouyn’s successor, Nicholas Sprimont, we know -something more. Like his contemporary Duplessis, at Sèvres, he was a -silversmith, working at one time in Soho. Sprimont entered his name at -Goldsmith Hall in 1742, and his mark is found on a pair of silver dishes -ornamented with shells and corals now at Windsor. - -For twenty years (1749-69) the factory at Chelsea was dependent upon -Sprimont’s efforts. He was financier, director, and designer. When he -was ill the kilns were not lighted. When finally, in 1764, he had to go -in search of health to ‘the German Spau,’ the stock and plant were -offered for sale. At an early period--soon after 1753, it would seem, -but possibly somewhat later--he appealed to the Government against the -connivance of the custom-house officials at the smuggling in of Dresden -china. In this ‘_Case of the Undertaker of the Chelsea Manufacture of -Porcelain_,’ Sprimont points out that ‘as the law stands, painted -Earthenware[214] other than that from India is not enterable at the -Custom House, otherwise than for private use.’ ‘The regulation,’ says -Sprimont, ‘is, however, evaded, especially by a certain foreign minister -whose official residence has become a warehouse for this commerce. What -chance had a private person in a match with a crowned head?’ - -From this ‘Case’ we learn that no porcelain or other ware, apart from -the importations of the East India Company, was allowed to enter the -country, but that an exception was made in the case of plain white ware -suitable for subsequent decoration in England.[215] Private individuals, -however, might import a certain amount of European porcelain for their -own use on payment of a small duty. ‘This concession,’ says Sprimont, -‘was greatly abused.’ Who, however, is the ‘crowned head’ who is so -anxious to push the sale of his own goods in the English market? The -Elector of Saxony, it is usually said; but if we could put the date of -the ‘undertaker’s case’ a few years later, between 1759 and 1761 (there -are, I allow, some difficulties in so doing), this charge would fit in -well with the efforts of Frederick the Great to convert the stock of -porcelain he found at Meissen into the much-needed cash.[216] - -The factory at Chelsea was situated beyond the west extremity of the -original Cheyne Row, just before you come to the old church. The works -extended for some distance along the west side of Lawrence Street. -Nothing is left of them now, but during some excavations made near at -hand, in 1843, many fragments of porcelain were found. These pieces -belong, it would seem, to an early period of the manufacture. - -We have already pointed out that neither the Chelsea works, nor indeed -any other English porcelain factory, at any time received direct -financial support either from the royal family or from the Government. -Sir Everard Fawkner, however, secretary to the Duke of Cumberland, was a -collector of china, and took some interest in the works. It was through -his influence, perhaps, that the ‘butcher of Culloden’ appears at one -time to have been brought, in some way, into connection with the Chelsea -factory.[217] Again, soon after his accession, the young King George -III. sent to the Duke of Mecklenburg a complete service of Chelsea -porcelain which cost £1200. This is, I think, our first known instance -in England of royal patronage, even in this restricted sense. - -In common with the other porcelain made at the time, the decoration, and -even the shapes, of much of the early ware of Chelsea were derived from -Oriental models. Of these Eastern types, the ‘wheatsheaf and partridge’ -(more properly quail) was most in favour. The Chelsea imitations of the -old Japanese ware are distinguished by the abundant use of a heavy -iron-red enamel. There are several specimens of this ware at South -Kensington, but I would call attention, above all, to a very curious -_compotier_ in the Jermyn Street collection.[218] This dish has a brown -rim, and round the margin a quaint decoration of foxes amid clusters of -red grapes. This is a very old Chinese _motif_, only we should have -squirrels in place of foxes. But the Chelsea ‘Kakiyemon’ never equalled -that of Chantilly, or perhaps even the copies made at Bow. On the other -hand, the Chelsea plates made in imitation of the brocaded ‘old Japan’ -are unsurpassed among European wares (PL. XLV). Equally early, perhaps, -are the plates and dishes with decorations of flowers and birds on a -large scale sprawling over the surface. In these last examples the -colours are poor and heavy, and the general execution very rough. Many -of the plain white pieces also belong to this early period.[219] - -In the year 1754 Sprimont introduced the system of periodic sales by -auction;[220] and we can in some measure trace the progress of the -manufacture in the advertisements and in the rare catalogues that have -been preserved. Thus in the advertisement of the first sale of 1754 we -already find mention of groups of figures. The next sale, a few months -later, was made up of ‘the entire Stock of PORCELAIN TOYS ... -Snuff-boxes, Smelling-Bottles, Etwees, and Trinkets for Watches (mounted -in Gold and unmounted) in various beautiful Shapes of an elegant Design -and curiously painted in Enamel.’ There was also in this sale a large -parcel of porcelain hafts for table and dessert knives and forks. - -This is the first mention that we have of these fascinating little ‘toys -and trinkets.’ They often bear inscriptions in a somewhat lame French, -which we might have looked for rather on the rival wares of -‘Stratford-atte-Bowe’ than at a factory where we have reason to believe -more than one Frenchman was employed. Of these toys a representative -collection was made by Lady Charlotte Schreiber, and there are many -charming specimens in the British Museum. We must remember that about -this time, and perhaps earlier (1740-50), Saint-Cloud and, above all, -Mennecy, were turning out a similar class of objects. - -The Chelsea sale of 1756 is the earliest of which a catalogue has been -preserved, and in it we find the first mention of the ‘mazareen’ blue, a -colour after this time largely used as a ground for the more elaborate -vases, both at Chelsea and at other English factories. The rage for -porcelain was then at its height, and we see traces of this in the -advertisements of the time; but in 1757 Sprimont fell ill, and little -was made at Chelsea. In 1759 the collection of Chelsea porcelain made by -the already-mentioned Sir Everard Fawkner, lately deceased, was sold by -auction. The sale occupied several days, and in the advertisement we -come across the earliest reference to the use of green _en camaïeu_--‘a -tea and coffee equipage, exquisitely painted in green landscapes.’ - -It was about this time, Professor Church thinks, that the artificial -frit-paste was replaced at Chelsea by one containing a large quantity of -bone-ash (as much as fifty per cent. in some cases). The earlier -material of the French type must have been very difficult to work, and -it softened so readily in the kiln that many specimens were spoiled in -the firing. It had, however, a certain mellow charm given by its -translucency and by the close unison of paste and glaze, that was never -equalled in the later material. - -Indeed the high-water mark of the Chelsea factory was reached in the -years that succeeded Sprimont’s first illness of 1757. It was then that -the use of gilding became more general.[221] The gold was laid on by -means of an amalgam, the mercury being expelled by the heat of the -muffle. The result, after burnishing, was to give a brilliant surface of -pure gold unlike the solid chiselled lines and bands of dullish surface -seen on Sèvres china. But from an artistic point of view this result is -not very satisfactory--indeed, nothing has helped more to give a certain -garish and vulgar air to much of the English porcelain made at this -time. - -In the notice of the spring sale of 1760, Sprimont sings the praises of -‘a few pieces of some new colours that have been found this year at a -very large expense, incredible labour and close application.’ Among -these new colours we must probably reckon the beautiful claret or deep -purplish crimson, the one colour of our English porcelain that has never -been surpassed or even equalled on the Continent. It differs from the -contemporary _rose Pompadour_ not only by the greater intensity of its -hue, but by being a transparent colour. This claret is, of course, -derived from the purple of Cassius, and the peculiar tint is said to be -due to the addition to the gold of a small amount of silver. Among the -other colours introduced at this time was probably a blue made in -imitation of the famous turquoise of Sèvres. This blue is very rare as a -ground colour at Chelsea, and the tint is generally greenish and opaque. -It is found at its best on a large vase in the British Museum with -open-work cover and handles. In a diluted form the turquoise blue is -often found as a wash upon the drapery of statuettes. The _rose -Pompadour_ of Sèvres was also imitated at a later date, but not very -successfully. - -This is the time of the more ambitious vases, with a monochrome ground -generally of deep blue and reserved panels painted with pastoral or -mythological subjects, or with fantastic ‘exotic’ birds and flowers. The -painting, even in the finest examples, never attained the delicacy of -the Sèvres prototype, and it is often lamentably inefficient, but at the -same time this very rudeness of execution sometimes adds to the -decorative effect of the _ensemble_. These vases are above all -distinguished by the strangely contorted shapes that Sprimont so loved -to give to the handles, covers, and feet. All these points are well -illustrated in the vases (made in the years 1762 and 1763) that Dr. -Garnier gave to the Foundling Hospital and to the British Museum. The -painting on these specimens is particularly bad and heavy. The -mythological subjects, in the style of Boucher, on the famous -_garniture_ with claret ground, now belonging to Lord Burton, show a -greater delicacy--in execution at least. This exaggerated rococo -treatment--in the extreme forms even the bilateral symmetry is -abandoned--was doubtless suggested by the forms of the ormolu mountings -(for handles and feet especially) then much in vogue.[222] - -To a somewhat earlier date belong the moulded reproductions of animals, -vegetables, and fruit so well represented in the Schreiber collection. -In the case of some of the models of birds, the plumage is admirably -reproduced, and in a sufficiently bold style. Notice especially some -covered dishes in the form of partridges and doves. There was a sale of -these ‘Chelsea Tureens in the shape of hen and chickens, swans, rabbits, -carp, etc.,’ in 1756. - -How brilliant and decorative in general effect was some of the ware made -by Sprimont in his later days may be well seen in the collection -presented to South Kensington by Miss Emily Thomson. It consists chiefly -of plates and cups with grounds of deep Mazarin blue, and more -especially of the rich claret or maroon of Chelsea (PL. XLIII.). -Technically, however, many of these pieces are very imperfect--the thick -glaze accumulated in pools and fissured by cracks, the painting -rude--and yet for all this a plate of this ware which has found its way -by some accident into an adjacent case, full of the finest Sèvres of the -best period, shines out from its surroundings like a jewel. - -The single figures and groups are mentioned in the earliest -advertisements--some of the plain white statuettes date back probably to -the first days of the works. Here the English potters, in applying the -soft paste covered with a thick, brilliant glaze to such a purpose, were -breaking fresh ground. The crispness and the finish of the Dresden -statuettes they could never attain to with these materials. The English -figures and groups, whether made at Chelsea or elsewhere, are generally -wanting in sharpness and precision of outline, a consequence in great -measure of the thick-flowing glaze. In the kiln they had to be supported -by an elaborate system of struts to prevent the fusible material from -collapsing, and this alone must have hampered the modeller in the -selection of the design. Many of these - -[Illustration: _PLATE XLIII._ CHELSEA] - -English statuettes are childishly and hastily modelled, and yet here and -there, perhaps almost by an accident, the modeller has succeeded in -giving a naïve charm and vivacity to the little figure that disarms all -criticism. I could point to perhaps a dozen examples in our museums to -illustrate this. Many of these statuettes are disfigured by the tawdry -gilding, and by the ugly rococo or ‘scroll’ bases which are always -present in the Chelsea examples. The colouring is distinguished by the -skilful use of pale and gradated tints: the greenish turquoise, the -_rouge d’or_--both the English and the French tints--and the pea green, -are--thanks, perhaps, to the crystalline glaze into which these colours -melt--boldly combined without any unpleasant effect[223] (PL. XLIV.). - -Sprimont, who after all is perhaps the most interesting figure in the -history of English porcelain, was after the year 1761 constantly -interrupted by ill-health, and the outturn of the kilns was for several -years very irregular; finally in 1769 the remaining stock was sold by -auction. The next year, the contents of the factory, the moulds, the -models--in wax, brass, or lead--the mills and the presses were purchased -privately by Duesbury _en bloc_, greatly to the disappointment of -Wedgwood, who had his eye upon certain of the models. Duesbury also took -over the lease of the Chelsea works, and carried them on conjointly with -his main factory at Derby until the year 1784. In that year, on the -expiration of the already prolonged lease, the factory at Chelsea was -finally abandoned and the kilns pulled down. - -The sales which had previously taken place at Burnsall’s in Charles -Street, Berkeley Square, were now held at Mr. Christie’s ‘in his great -room, late the Royal Academy, in Pall Mall.’ It was there that ‘Messrs. -Duesbury and Co.’ disposed at intervals of the produce of the combined -works. But the history of Chelsea porcelain as a _genre_ apart comes to -an end with the departure of Sprimont. During the remaining years of -their existence, the Chelsea works formed merely a dependency of those -at Derby. - -As to the marks used at Chelsea, of the early incised triangle, which -was formerly ascribed to Bow, we have already spoken. The anchor in -relief on a raised oval cartouche (PL. E. 69) is found on relatively -early ware; it is associated with a waxy, translucent paste, and a -simple decoration without gilding. The mark, _par excellence_, of -Chelsea is the red anchor (PL. E. 70), but on richly decorated pieces, -and especially those with much gilding, the anchor is often inscribed in -gold. - - -BOW.--From the beginning of the eighteenth century to the year 1744 -there is no trace of the issue of any English patent relating to the -manufacture of porcelain. In the latter year, however, a specification -was registered according to which Edward Heylyn, of the parish of Bow, -merchant, and Thomas Frye, of the parish of West Ham, painter, professed -to make porcelain, by mixing with ‘an earth the produce of the Cherokee -nation in America, called by the natives Unaker,’ a glass composed of -flint and potash. This unaker, no doubt a kind of kaolin (we are told -that the sand and mica had to be carefully washed away), was much talked -of at this time (especially in Quaker circles), and its use preceded by -some years that of the Cornish china-clay. - -Possibly something resembling porcelain was made at Bow for a short time -with these incongruous materials; but in the winter of 1748-49 a second -patent - -[Illustration: Plate XLIV. - -_Chelsea. Coloured enamels._] - -was taken out, this time by Frye alone, ‘for a new method of making a -certain ware which is not inferior in beauty and fineness, and is rather -superior in strength than the earthenware that is brought from the East -Indies, and is commonly known by the name of China, Japan, or porcelain -ware.’ In the description of the materials employed under the vague -denomination of ‘a virgin earth’ produced by the calcination, grinding, -and washing of certain animals, vegetables, and fossils, we probably -have, as Professor Church has pointed out, the first mention of bone-ash -as a material for porcelain. According to the specification, the paste -should contain four-ninths by weight of the ‘virgin earth,’ and taking -this to mean bone-ash, this proportion corresponds most closely with the -amount of phosphate of lime found by Professor Church in some of the -fragments from the site of the works which we shall describe directly. -Frye’s glaze was to be compounded from a mixture of red lead, saltpetre -and sand, with the addition of a small quantity of smalt, to correct the -yellow colour of the paste.[224] - -Thomas Frye was an artist of some standing who, towards the close of his -life, ‘scraped’ some mezzotints still valued by collectors. He died in -1762, and in his epitaph it is claimed for him that he was ‘the inventor -and first manufacturer of porcelain in England.’ The works of which Frye -was the manager before the failure of his health in 1759 were situated -close to the high road just beyond the bridge over the river Lea. Close -by, in 1868, when making some excavations for a drain in the grounds of -a match-factory, a number of fragments of porcelain were found, among -them pieces of plain white with prunus ‘sprigs’ in relief, and others -poorly decorated with under-glaze blue. Some of these fragments were -evidently ‘wasters.’ With them were found some broken ‘seggars,’ and, -what is still more interesting, a circular cake of frit, so that the -site of the kilns must have been near at hand.[225] - -The model of the Bow factory, we are told, was taken from that at -Canton, in China. It would be interesting to know to what building the -reference is made, for it is doubtful whether porcelain was ever made at -Canton. In any case, the name given to the factory, ‘The New Canton -Works,’ is interesting. Here in the east of London, one was then, as -now, perceptibly nearer to China and the East Indies than at Chelsea. -The river and the docks are at hand, and there is indeed only one -stage--a long one, it is true--between us and Canton. So at Bow we find -the Oriental decoration more prevalent and surviving longer than -elsewhere. - -The outturn of the kilns, like that of Chelsea, was sold periodically by -auction, but the sales took place in the city for the most part, and the -principal warehouse was in Cornhill. Though so difficult to identify -nowadays, a large quantity of porcelain must have been produced by the -Bow factory during the thirty years of its independent existence. Like -its rival at Chelsea, the works had many ups and downs, and Crowther, -the proprietor, became bankrupt in 1763. Compared with Chelsea, however, -the bulk of the ware produced was no doubt of a common and cheap kind. -Sprimont, in his ‘Case of the Undertaker,’ says somewhat contemptuously, -‘The chief endeavours at Bow have been towards making a more ordinary -ware for common use.’ This is, of course, the dictum of a rival, but -the Bow firm, in their advertisements, only claim to provide ‘china -suitable for gentlemen’s kitchens, for private families and taverns.’ - -There has been the widest difference of opinion as to the actual -specimens of porcelain that may with certainty be classed as the produce -of the kilns at Bow. The earliest dated pieces are of a very modest -kind--certain little cylindrical ink-pots. There is one in the -collection formerly at Jermyn Street, with the inscription ‘Made at New -Canton, 1751’; another in a private collection is dated a year earlier. -The execution is rough, and the hastily coloured decoration of flowers -is in the Japanese style. Some little time after this, in 1753, we find -proof that the kilns were turning out much more ware than the proprietor -could find painters to decorate.[226] They advertise in a Birmingham -newspaper for ‘painters in the blue and white potting way and enamelers -in china-ware’; also for ‘painters brought up in the Snuff-box way, -Japanning, Fan-painting, etc.’ They are at the same time in search of -persons ‘who can model small figures in clay neatly.’ Such -advertisements seem to come from a commercial house with a large but -perhaps irregular outturn. Sprimont would probably have exercised more -care in the selection of his artists. - -There is a famous punch-bowl in the British Museum which is above all -the _pièce justificative_ of the Bow porcelain works. On the inside of -the cover of the box in which it is preserved is a long inscription, -signed at the foot by T. Craft, and with the date 1790.[227] Thomas -Craft, formerly an enamel-painter at Bow, was probably at that time a -very old man. This bowl, he tells us, was made at Bow about 1760, and -painted by him ‘in what we used to call the old Japan taste, a taste at -that time much esteemed by the then Duke of Argyle.’ This is -interesting. Craft refers probably to the so-called ‘partridge and -wheatsheaf’ style, and the duke was doubtless a collector of this ware, -like his contemporaries at Chantilly and the Palais Royal. But the -decoration of this bowl has unfortunately nothing Japanese about it, -except to some degree in the colour of the enamels employed. The heavy -wreaths made up of minute flowers, upon which Mr. Craft tells us that he -expended two dwts. of gold and about a fortnight of his time, take their -inspiration rather from Meissen. (Compare the wreaths, PL. XLV. 2.) The -works, he continues, which employed ninety painters and about two -hundred turners, throwers, etc.,[228] had now, in 1790, ‘like -Shakespeare’s cloud-capt towers, etc.,’ shared the fate of ‘the famous -cities of Troy, Carthage, etc.’ The site was occupied by a manufactory -of turpentine and some small tenements. Mr. Craft, however, tells us -that he never used this punch-bowl _but in particular respect of his -company_, and he hopes that those to whom it may pass may be equally -abstemious. It is at present in the charge of the trustees of the -British Museum. - -Many of the more elaborate figures and highly finished vases classed as -‘Bow’ in the Schreiber collection at South Kensington are now regarded -by most specialists as the production, some of the Derby works, and -others of the Chelsea and even the Worcester kilns. In view of the -uncertainty and difference of opinion about the ware that is to be -attributed to Bow, it is important to note the physical qualities of -undoubted specimens. Professor Church lays stress upon the - -[Illustration: _PLATE XLV._ 1--CHELSEA, COLOURED ENAMELS -2--BOW, COLOURED ENAMELS] - -general thickness of the ware, the remarkable translucency of the -thinner parts, and upon the fact that the transmitted light is of a -somewhat yellowish tint, not greenish, as in the Worcester porcelain. -The glaze, though nearly white, is of a pale straw colour, and it tends -to accumulate round the reliefs; it contains much lead, and is liable to -become iridescent and discoloured (_English Porcelain_, p. 31). I would -add that a majority of the undoubted examples--I rely especially upon -those collected by the late Sir A. W. Franks, now in the British -Museum--are distinguished by a certain dirty and speckled appearance of -the surface of the glaze. I think that the Bow china has been less -influenced than other of our wares by French and German examples. Apart -from the Oriental decoration of some of the earlier pieces, it is on the -whole a very _English_ ware. - -The process of transfer-printing, which had been first applied to china -by Sadler of Liverpool about the year 1750, and which had been in use at -perhaps as early a date on the enamels of Battersea, where Hancock was -working at this time, was employed a few years later at Bow.[229] A -preliminary outline was sometimes printed under the glaze, and this -subsequently enlivened by enamel colours laid on by hand, as we see on -some barbarously painted dishes with Chinese subjects in the British -Museum. This transfer-printing is an essentially English process: it has -since been carried round the world in the wake of our Staffordshire -pottery, and the process has even been applied to porcelain in Japan. To -the general adoption of this mechanical process, more than to any other -cause, we may attribute the dying out of the school of artist-craftsmen -who painted on china, and the extinction of all feeling for the -decorative value of the designs applied to the ware. - -I would call attention to some small figures in the collection formerly -in the Geological Museum. These little statuettes are in a white glazed -ware of a slightly greenish tint, and they are attributed to Bow. The -‘Draped Warrior’ and the ‘Seated Nuns’ appear to be taken from models of -a considerably earlier period, and their artistic merit is undeniable. - -John Bacon, the fashionable sculptor of George III.’s time, is said to -have found employment, when young, both as a modeller and painter of -porcelain. He was certainly apprenticed in 1755 to a Mr. Crispe of Bow -Churchyard, the proprietor of some pottery-works at Lambeth, and he may -very likely have worked for Crowther, at Bow, after the expiration of -his apprenticeship. - -A dagger or sword with one or more dots near the hilt, associated with -an anchor, is the mark especially characteristic of the ware made at Bow -(PL. E. 71), but much porcelain attributed to this factory carries no -mark. A monogram formed of the letters T and F found on some early ware -is perhaps to be referred to Thomas Frye, but the Worcester factory also -used this mark (PL. E. 72). - - -LONGTON HALL.--It has lately been recognised that porcelain was made in -the Staffordshire potteries, probably as early as the middle of the -century.[230] This was at Longton Hall, in the borough of -Stoke-upon-Trent. From an advertisement in a Birmingham paper (July 27, -1752) we learn that W. Littler and Co. were ready to supply ‘a great -variety of ornamental porcelain in the most fashionable and genteel -taste.’ It was Mr. Nightingale, I think, who first traced certain pieces -of china, marked with two L’s crossed (PL. E. 81), to Littler’s factory. -This porcelain had previously been attributed to Bow. The Longton Hall -ware has no claim to any artistic merit. A crude blue is the prevailing -ground colour, and the contorted shapes copy rudely the rococo of -Sprimont’s Chelsea ware. The mouldings on the dishes and plates often -take the form of leaves. Some of this porcelain is exceptionally thin -compared with other English wares of this comparatively early period. -The flower-painting on the reserved panels of the plates should, -however, be noticed. The carefully executed bunches of roses, somewhat -realistically treated, are perhaps the earliest specimens of a style -very prevalent at a later time in England, one which found its most -famous exponent in Billingsley’s work at Nantgarw and elsewhere. William -Duesbury, a native of the district, was working at Longton Hall early in -the fifties as a painter in enamel. Nothing is known of this factory -after the year 1758.[231] There is some reason to believe that it fell -into the hands of Duesbury, but this is a disputed question. Professor -Church has analysed several specimens of the Longton Hall china. It -contains no bone-ash, and is in composition very close to the early -Chelsea ware. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -ENGLISH PORCELAIN--(_continued_). - -THE SOFT PASTE OF DERBY, WORCESTER, CAUGHLEY, COALPORT, SWANSEA, -NANTGARW, LOWESTOFT, LIVERPOOL, PINXTON, ROCKINGHAM, CHURCH GRESLEY, -SPODE, AND BELLEEK. - - -Derby.--Porcelain of some kind was probably made at Derby not much later -than the date of the first establishment of Frye’s works at Bow. Mr. -Bemrose quotes entries from the work-book of Duesbury, which show that -during the years 1751-53 he was busy enamelling the products not only of -the ‘Chellsea and Bogh’ kilns, but that, although resident in London, he -received work from Derby also. Indeed the price, eight shillings, that -he got for enamelling ‘one pair of Darby figars large,’ is higher than -his usual charge for painting the Chelsea statuettes (_Bow, Chelsea, and -Derby Porcelain_).[232] - -William Duesbury was a Staffordshire man. As early as the year 1742, -when he was only seventeen, he was working in London as an enameller for -weekly wages. This we know from his work-book, which has been preserved. -It would be interesting to know what it was that he enamelled at this -early date. From the same book we learn that in the years 1751-53 he was -in London decorating china figures for the most part. These he -distinguishes as Bow, or Bogh, Chellsea, Darby, and Staffordshire. In -1752 he paid a bill of £6, 19s. for colours, although at that time -little gold was used by him. Among other entries in his work-book at -this period we find the following note: ‘How to color the group, a -gentleman Busing a Lady--gentlm a gold trimd cote, a pink wastcot -crimson and trimd with gold and black breeches and socs, the lade a -flourd sack with yellow robings, a black stomegar, her hare black, his -wig powdrd.’ Each piece that he coloured is carefully noted, and the -price that he obtained given. For instance, ‘pair of le Dresden figars,’ -‘Chellsea Nurs,’ ‘a pair of Baccosses,’ ‘a hartychoake.’[233] We have -already referred to Duesbury’s connection with Littler’s works,--we may -note that his father was living at Longton Hall at this time. - -In December 1756 there was a sale in London, by order of the ‘Derby -Porcelain Manufactory,’ of figures, services, etc., ‘after the finest -Dresden models.’ For some time the ‘Derby China Company’ sold their -goods through their factor at ‘Oliver Cromwell’s Drawing-Room’ near the -Admiralty. It would seem that in 1756 Duesbury entered into some kind of -partnership, at Derby, with Heath and Planché, the first a banker and -proprietor of pottery-works at Cockpit Hill, and the latter a -‘china-maker,’ of whom various more or less apocryphal stories are told. -All we can safely say is that Planché had probably been working for some -time at Derby as a modeller of figures. - -In the year 1758 the Derby works were enlarged and the number of workmen -doubled, and this change has been coupled with the closing of Littler’s -factory at Longton Hall about the same time. But from this date to the -year 1769, all that we know of the Derby factory is derived from a few -advertisements in London papers. It is indeed a very remarkable fact -that, in spite of the most persevering researches--for how thoroughly -the ground has been gleaned we can judge by looking through the -elaborate works of Haslem, Bemrose, and the late Mr. Nightingale--we can -hardly point to a single specimen of porcelain made at Derby before the -year 1770, nor do we know of any mark that can be assigned to an earlier -period than this. Can it be that up to this time the works were chiefly -occupied in copying the wares, and perhaps the marks, not only of -Dresden, but also of Chelsea and Bow? - -When the Chelsea factory and its contents were sold in 1769, it was -Duesbury, and not the Derby China Company, who was the purchaser. After -the year 1775, when the Bow works were also purchased, he had, with the -exception of the Worcester manufactory, practically no rival in the -field. - -We may take the year 1770 as the turning-point in the history of English -porcelain. In France, by this time, the rococo of Louis XV.’s reign was -already giving way to the simpler, and in part more classical, forms -that distinguish the next reign, for it is common knowledge that the -style known as Louis XVI. came into vogue several years before the -accession of that king. In England the change can be best traced in the -work of the silversmith, seeing that in such work there can be no -uncertainty as to the date. Already, before the end of the sixties, we -find in the silver plate then made outlines formed of simple curves and -even straight lines replacing the troubled rococo scrolls, and by the -year 1770 the new classical forms have carried the whole field. And in -like manner the china made by Duesbury, both at Chelsea and Derby, -follows the new fashion. - -But the vases bearing the Chelsea-Derby mark of an anchor crossing the -down-stroke of the letter D (PL. E. 73) differ from those made by -Sprimont not only in outline. A new scheme of decoration has come in, -one that continued with no radical change for the next fifty years and -more. Let us take the Chelsea-Derby vase in the Jones collection--it -stands in company with several others of the Sprimont rococo type. -Notice the oblique fluted mouldings of the upper part (a _motif_ taken -directly from the silversmith), which are accentuated by deep blue and -gold lines on a white ground (this is a scheme of decoration above all -characteristic of Derby china). The reserved panels on the body of the -vase are painted with pastoral subjects. Here there is little change, -but around these panels the ground is completely covered with flowers of -various kinds--each species can be made out, but full-blown double roses -predominate. These full-blown roses are a note that distinguishes -English porcelain from this time onwards. As they become larger, and -occupy a more prominent place, the painting loses all trace of -decorative feeling. Billingsley carried them in his wanderings to all -the porcelain factories of England, and we are finally landed in the -monstrosities of Rockingham and the insipidities of Nantgarw. - -One point we have omitted to mention in our description of the -Chelsea-Derby vase at South Kensington. The handles, winged figures -somewhat classically treated, are of unglazed ware. This is an example -of the famous Derby biscuit, or bisque, as it is sometimes called, which -we now know was made as early as 1771. The greatest care was taken in -the preparation of this biscuit ware; any piece with the slightest -defect was rejected. The material allows of a sharpness and high finish -which would be lost in the thick covering of the glazed ware. The paste -in many of the examples has acquired a somewhat shiny surface, as if -covered with a skin of glaze. The best known specimens date from the -last years of the century, when Spengler, a modeller from Zurich, was -engaged by the second Duesbury. In them we see exemplified that mixture -of the sentimental and the pseudo-classical so much admired at this -time. The shepherd with his dog (there is an example at South -Kensington) is taken from a Roman relief, the head perhaps from an -Antinous. The shepherdess has been reading Richardson, if not Jean -Jacques, and they both take life very seriously. - -We find, however, the Chelsea-Derby mark on enamelled figures that -differ little from the earlier and more frivolous type. These survivals, -as it were, of the rococo school stand no longer upon a scroll pediment, -but on a rocky ground, amid careful reproductions of natural objects, -stumps of trees, shells, or what not. The colours, too, have become -somewhat stronger; the pale, greenish blue of the earlier pieces is -replaced by a fuller turquoise hue. - -It was at this time, or a little later, that the process of ‘casting’ -was introduced for these statuettes. This was a process of English -origin, though it is now extensively used at Sèvres and elsewhere -abroad. We have described the various modifications of this plan in a -previous chapter (p. 25). In the case of these statuettes, the figure is -first modelled in tough clay; the head and limbs are then cut off. A -plaster-of-Paris mould is then made of each of the separate parts, a -cream-like slip is poured into the mould and quickly poured out before -all the water is absorbed, a layer of the paste remaining on the sides -of the mould. This layer is detached when sufficiently dry; the pieces -are then joined together by means of the same slip, and the outline of -the figure sharpened with a modelling tool.[234] Porcelain made by this -casting process is not so dense as that made on the old system; its -specific gravity is appreciably lower. The moulding or repairing knife -may be, to some extent, replaced by the use of a brush, but a less sharp -outline is obtained in this case. In the furnace these figures have to -be supported by an elaborate scaffolding of props, and the shrinkage of -the clay during the firing is another source of difficulty. - -In the British Museum may be seen a garniture of vases, of a type very -characteristic of the early Chelsea-Derby time. A pale turquoise ground -is overlaid with white flowers in low relief. This is but a modification -of the German _schnee-ball_ decoration. Somewhat later the _pâte tendre_ -of Sèvres is evidently taken as a model, as in the _cabaret_ which was -given by Queen Charlotte to one of her maids of honour. This ‘equipage,’ -to give it its English name, has also found its way into our national -collection. It has the rare jonquil ground with a border of blue and -gold. - -For smaller objects, for cups, saucers, and plates, a simpler style of -decoration is in favour. The wreaths of little blue flowers, -forget-me-nots, and corn-flowers (the French _barbeau_), relieved with -touches of green and gold, remind one of the similar ware made at -Sèvres, and more especially at some of the smaller Parisian factories -during the early years of Louis XVI. - -The elaborately decorated ‘old Japan’ was much copied at Derby, but so -unintelligently that the patterns degenerated into meaningless forms, -known as ‘rock Japan,’ ‘witches Japan,’ and even ‘Grecian Japan’! This -was the beginning of a barbarous style of decoration, in vogue in the -Staffordshire potteries at a later time both for porcelain and -earthenware, in which scattered members of the original scheme are -jumbled together at the whim of the ignorant painter.[235] - -The subsequent vicissitudes of the Derby factory may be traced in the -marks in use at successive dates. The combined anchor and D was -apparently employed at Chelsea as long as the factory existed, but at -Derby a crown with jewelled bows was introduced in 1773 (PL. E. 75), -perhaps on the occasion of some _velléité_ of royal patronage, although -we have no definite evidence of anything of the kind.[236] - -Somewhat later we find two batons crossed, with three dots in each angle -(similar to the ‘billiard’ mark on some Dutch porcelain) inserted on -Derby porcelain between the crown and the letter D (PL. E. 74). - -William Duesbury died in 1786. His son, the second William, shortly -before his death in 1796, took into partnership Michael Kean, a -miniature-painter, and now a K was combined with the D on the mark. In -1813 the factory was leased to Robert Bloor by the third William -Duesbury, and after that time we hear no more of that family in -connection with Derby. Bloor conducted the works on ‘business -principles’ until his death in 1846. If for nothing else, his name -should be remembered in connection with a wonderfully brilliant claret, -or _rouge d’or_, that he succeeded in making. There is a vase with this -ground in the Jermyn Street collection which has excited the admiration -of foreign experts. Bloor used the old mark, in red, up to 1831 at -least. Before that time, however, the crown had lost the jewels upon its -bows. At this period china-clay and china-stone were more and more used, -and the porcelain became harder and somewhat opaque. As a consequence -of the higher melting, or rather softening, points of both body and -glaze, the enamels lost something of their brilliancy and lustre. - -The present porcelain factory at Derby cannot strictly be regarded as a -direct descendant of the old works on the Nottingham Road, whose career -came to an end after Bloor’s death in 1846. - - -WORCESTER.--We have seen how William Duesbury, an obscure and illiterate -painter of china images from the Staffordshire potteries, had after the -absorption of the factories of Chelsea and Bow (as well probably as that -established by Littler in Duesbury’s own country) become a kind of china -king. - -There was one factory, however, skilfully managed and established on a -firm financial basis which remained entirely independent of him. Of the -origin of this factory--the Worcester China Works--we have, quite -exceptionally, a full record. These works, we may add, are also -exceptional in another respect--they have had a continuous history from -the year of their foundation to the present day, that is to say for more -than a century and a half. Mr. R. W. Binns has in his possession a copy -of the articles of association ‘for carrying on the Worcester Tonquin -manufacture.’[237] They are dated January 4, 1751. The forty-five shares -of £100 each were divided among fifteen original partners, of whom two -claim to possess the secret, art, mystery, and process of making -porcelain. These two were John Wall, doctor of medicine, and William -Davis, apothecary. We have no record of the preliminary experiments said -to have been made by these two men in a laboratory over the apothecary’s -shop, nor do we know for how long these experiments had been carried -on. Two workmen, however, who had already been employed by them for some -time, were retained by the new company and well paid as an inducement to -keep secret the process of manufacture. It was the apothecary Davis, -probably, who brought the scientific knowledge, but Dr. Wall also, -besides being a portrait-painter who had acquired some renown at Oxford -and in his native town (he had made designs for painted glass among -other things), was an energetic, practical man with some scientific -pretensions; nor must we forget the two workmen, who probably had a good -deal to say in the matter. - -A site for the new factory was found in Warmstry House, a fine old -mansion that had belonged to the Windsor family, situated some hundred -yards to the north of the cathedral, and the kilns were erected in the -grounds which sloped down to the river. The biscuit kiln and the -glazing-kiln were enclosed in long roofed buildings apparently without -conspicuous chimneys. Only the great kiln for the ‘segurs’ takes the -conical shape that we associate with pottery-ovens.[238] The pressing, -modelling, and throwing galleries were established in the old house -itself, where there was also a ‘secret room.’ - -The little that we know of the composition of the paste, or rather -pastes, for there were two or more varieties used for the fine and -common ware respectively, is derived from a paper (now in the possession -of Mr. Binns) drawn up in 1764 by Richard Holdship, one of the original -partners. In that year Holdship (he was an engraver who had been -associated with the introduction of the transfer process) became -bankrupt, and now entered the service of Duesbury and Heath at Derby. -From this paper we learn that the ordinary paste used at Worcester -contained about two-thirds of a glassy material (a mixture of -flint-glass, crown-glass, and a specially prepared frit), and one-third -of a soapy rock, that is to say of a steatite, from Cornwall. The -composition of the glaze is interesting:--it contained, besides the -usual constituents, 14 per cent. of ‘foreign china,’ 2½ per cent. of -‘tin-ashes,’ and 0·3 per cent. of smalt. We should add that on the whole -the glaze of Worcester china is somewhat harder than that of other -English soft-paste wares. Along with this recipe is ‘a process for -making porcelain ware, without soapy rock or glass, in imitation of -Nanquin, being an opaque body.’ This ‘Nanquin’ ware was made by mixing -bone-ash with an equal weight of a very silicious frit: to the mixture 8 -per cent. of Barnstaple clay and a small quantity of smalt were added. - -We learn from other sources (_e.g._ Borlase’s _History of Cornwall_, -1758) that the agents of the Worcester company were busy searching for -and purchasing steatite rock, especially at Mullion, in the Lizard -district.[239] - -Of the porcelain produced during the first sixteen years of the -Worcester factory we know a little more than of that of the -corresponding time at Derby. This was an eclectic period: the wares (and -the marks also) of Chantilly, Meissen, and Chelsea were copied. It was -the Oriental models, however, that were most in favour, especially the -blue and white of China, small pieces of which were imitated with some -success. For the enamelled ware, the brocaded Imari, our ‘old Japan,’ -rather than the older Kakiyemon ware, served as a type. At this time, -too, a strange attempt was made to copy the marks of the Chinese -porcelain. We can trace, sometimes, the well-known characters of the -Ming dynasty (‘great’ and ‘bright’) (PL. E. 76). In other cases Arabic -numerals are arranged so as roughly to resemble a Chinese character. The -idea was probably taken from old Delft ware on which similar marks are -found, as also occasionally on Bow and on some Salopian porcelain. -Again, we find a degenerate seal character, perhaps derived from the -popular Japanese mark _Fu_ (happiness), taking a form something like the -design of a Union Jack (PL. E. 78). The decoration of the Chinese -_famille rouge_ was also copied--we find it, for example, on the edges -of little white cups and bowls with basket-work designs in low relief, -of which there are some specimens at South Kensington. - -To an early period, also, belongs the ware decorated in black (or less -often in lilac), with figures and landscapes, ‘transferred’ by a variety -of ingenious processes, which we need not describe here, from an -engraved copper-plate. Used before this time on enamels at Battersea and -on earthenware at Liverpool, it was with the ‘jet enamelled’ ware of -Worcester, printed from the plates specially made for the purpose by -Robert Hancock (who had previously been employed at Battersea under the -Frenchman Ravenet), that the new process was above all associated. Here, -for the first time perhaps in its history, porcelain was ‘made to -speak,’ to use Napoleon’s phrase. On it the hero of the day was -immortalised: in 1757 we find Frederick the Great, crowned by a winged -Genius; at a later time the Marquis of Granby and the elder Pitt. It is -Hancock, it would seem, that we must regard as the _capo scuola_ of -another ‘school of decoration,’ one which, spreading at a later time to -Staffordshire, has been carried to all parts of the world where -transfer-printed English crockery has penetrated. The basis of this -decoration is a classical ruin--generally a fragment of the entablature -of a Roman temple supported on a few columns; add to this a pointed -building something between an obelisk and a pyramid,[240] the whole -enclosed in a framework of conventional trees. Upon how many millions of -jugs and basins was this pattern repeated, in black, in green, and in -lilac! At some future day, by the study of potsherds so decorated -collected in many lands, an archæologist may be able to trace the course -of English commerce in the nineteenth century, and to draw strange -inferences as to the state of the arts at that time in our country. - -This ‘jet-enamelled’ transfer was printed over the glaze; sometimes, to -enliven the effect, other colours, painted by hand, were added, with -disastrous results. In the blue and white printed ware, on the other -hand, the cobalt pigment is applied under the glaze. The paste of this -transfer-printed porcelain is often of good quality and very -translucent, and the finer earlier specimens are much sought after by -collectors. We have seen that at least from the _cultur-historisch_ -point of view this printed china is not without interest. - -After 1763 Sprimont’s factory at Chelsea was only working at irregular -intervals. Some time later, about 1768, many of the enamel-painters -migrated to Worcester, where capable artists seem to have been in great -demand. It is usual to attribute to this migration a new scheme of -decoration that came into vogue at Worcester in the seventies. This was -the period of the vases with deep blue grounds and panels brilliantly -painted with flowers and bright-plumaged tropical birds. The _bleu du -roi_ ground (we must remember that, like the similar grounds at Chelsea -and Longport, this pigment was painted _sous couverte_) is often -covered with the salmon-scales in a deeper tint so characteristic of the -period; at other times it is replaced by a _poudré_ blue. The hand of -the Chelsea artist is to be recognised in the decoration of the panels, -but the vases are generally of simple contours, often octagonal and, on -the whole, following Chinese shapes. It is this richly decorated ware, -produced especially between 1770 and 1780, which now commands such -extravagant prices in the London market. - -On the other hand, the new classical forms already in favour at Derby -and in France were not as yet adopted at Worcester--they came in later, -and then in a more debased form. In fact, the special mark of this, the -finest period in these works, is the application of a rich style of -painting that we generally associate with rococo shapes, to vases which -otherwise retain the form and decoration of their Chinese prototypes. -Somewhat later, from Sèvres, no doubt, came the canary yellow, generally -poor in tone and of uneven strength. The simple floral wreaths of the -Louis XVI. period are here represented by the pretty ‘trellis’ design, -green festoons hanging from reddish poles (PL. XLVI.). - -Much of the Worcester porcelain was from an early time decorated in -London. In 1768 we find Mr. J. Giles (no doubt the ‘Mr. Gyles of Kentish -Town’ to whose kiln Thomas Craft took his famous punch-bowl to be -‘burnt’ at a charge of 3s.) described in an advertisement as ‘china and -enamel painter, proprietor of the Worcester Porcelain Warehouse, up one -pair of stairs in Cockspur Street.’ Here the nobility and gentry may -find ‘articles useful and ornamental curiously painted in the Dresden, -Chelsea, and Chinese taste.’ - -At a later time the Baxter family occupied much the same position as -Giles. The elder Baxter had - -[Illustration: _PLATE XLVI._ WORCESTER] - -workshops at Goldsmith Street, Gough Square,[241] and here white -porcelain from many sources was decorated. There is a curious -water-colour drawing, representing the interior of this workshop, at -South Kensington. It is the work of the younger Baxter, famous in his -day as a painter on porcelain. The pale, anæmic faces of the -artists--one of them wears a large pair of spectacles--crouching over -their work in a narrow, crowded room, may be taken as evidence that this -occupation was injurious both to the eyesight and to the general health -(PL. LXVII.). - -To return to the general history of the Worcester factory. In 1770 we -hear of a strike among the painters, who were alarmed at the spread of -the underglaze printing process. The movement was not unconnected, -probably, with the introduction of new blood from Chelsea. In 1772 there -was a general shuffling-up and reorganisation of the company, with the -result that Dr. Wall and the two Davises, father and son, finally gained -possession of nearly all the shares. But the doctor died in 1776, and -seven years later the whole concern was sold to Mr. Flight, a London -jeweller, who had previously acted as agent for the company. At the same -time Chamberlain, an original apprentice, and a man who had taken a -leading part of late in the artistic management, seceded from the -company, and, with his son, set up an independent manufactory. - -After the visit of George III. to the works in 1788, the factory became -‘Royal,’ and this is, perhaps, the nearest approach to a royal patronage -that we can find in the history of English porcelain. In time the -Chamberlain offshoot came to flourish more than the original stock, and -finally, in 1840, the older firm, then known as ‘Flight and Barr,’ was -absorbed by it. Towards the end of the eighteenth century many -magnificent services of china were made for the royal family, painted -with finished pictures in the style admired at the time. The porcelain -was again ‘made to speak.’ In answer to the Napoleonic victories figured -on the ware of Sèvres, we in England painted naval emblems and portraits -of Lord Nelson on our plates and dishes. - -The joint-stock company which now owns the Worcester factory was founded -in 1862. Since that time great efforts have been made to keep on a level -with the artistic movements of the day. Much attention has been paid to -the modelling of the handles, the stands and the covers of the vases, so -that some of them are works of art by themselves. The porcelain has been -designed and decorated in ‘the style of the Italian renaissance,’ in the -‘French style,’ then for a time a Japanese influence prevailed, to be -followed by vases in ‘Persian style,’ and then back to the ‘Florentine -renaissance’ once more. But running through the whole, we may perhaps -trace a _soupçon_ of the French art of the later nineteenth century. - -Apart from the imitative marks of the early period which we have already -mentioned, we find at an early date the letter W, either for Wall or -Worcester (so the D of the rival works may stand either for Derby or -Duesbury). Another early mark, borrowed probably from Frye and the Bow -works, is the T. F. monogram which occurs on some underglaze blue and -white pieces. The crescent (PL. E. 77), used up to 1793, is chiefly -found on ware decorated with transfer printing: when this printing is in -blue under the glaze, a solid or ruled crescent is found. The later -firms, as ‘Flight and Barr’ and ‘Chamberlain,’ print their names in -full. A number of small marks found on Worcester china--more than -seventy have been noted--were added in most cases to identify the -painters and gilders. - - -SMALLER WEST OF ENGLAND SOFT-PASTE FACTORIES. - -This will be the most convenient place to say something of a small group -of factories where china was made towards the end of the eighteenth -century. It is a distinctly West of England family, owing its origin in -a measure to Worcester, but also forming a link between that factory and -the Staffordshire works. We include in it the Shropshire porcelains of -Caughley and Coalbrookdale, together with Swansea and Nantgarw. - -CAUGHLEY.--The ‘Salopian Porcelain Works’ were started in 1772 at -Caughley, near Broseley, in Shropshire, a neighbourhood long famous for -its earthenware. It was here that Thomas Turner, a man of some social -standing who came from Worcester, devoted himself more especially to -printing in blue under the glaze. It was at Caughley, it would seem, -about 1780, that the famous ‘willow pattern’ was first used. There is in -the British Museum a curious little oblong dish that shows this design -in an undeveloped form. Turner, it is said, first printed complete -dinner-services, in dark blue, with this pattern. Not long after this he -went to France, and brought back a batch of French painters, whose -influence may perhaps be seen in the ware made at a later time at -Coalport. Some of the printed work is delicately executed, and when the -decoration is judiciously heightened with a little gilding, the effect -is not unpleasing. We hear also of dinner-services painted with -‘Chantille sprigs,’ and Turner also supplied Chamberlain with plain -white ware to be subsequently decorated at Worcester. At a later time -much gilding was applied to a richly decorated porcelain. Some of this -ware is stamped with the word ‘Salopian,’ other pieces have the letters -S or C printed or painted under the glaze; but both Dresden and even -Worcester marks were also used. Two men, at a later time representatives -of the industrial phase of porcelain, John Rose and Thomas Minton, were -trained in these short-lived works. - -COALPORT OR COALBROOKDALE.--Here, on the left bank of the Severn, nearly -opposite the last-named factory, John Rose began making porcelain soon -after 1780. In 1799 he purchased from Turner (whose apprentice he had -been) the Caughley works, and in 1814 he removed the whole plant to -Coalbrookdale. Here, too, came Billingsley after the closing of the -Nantgarw works, and here he worked till his death in 1828. During the -first half of the nineteenth century the firm of John Rose and Company -was a successful rival to the Davenports, Mintons, and Copelands. Rose -excelled in the production of gorgeous vases decorated with picture -panels, and Billingsley kept up the supply of his English roses. The -older wares of Sèvres and Chelsea were copied not unsuccessfully, and -the appropriate mark was not omitted. The firm seems to have above all -prided itself upon the beauty of its _rose Pompadour_ grounds, and at a -later time, after 1850, both this ground and the turquoise blue were -largely applied to the pseudo-Sèvres porcelain that found its way to the -London china-shops. In 1820 Rose was granted a medal by the Society of -Arts for a leadless glaze, compounded of felspar and borax. The factory -at Coalport continues to produce much china on the same lines. - -Near at hand, at Madeley, some very close imitations of the old Sèvres -were made by Randall between 1830 and 1840. For the origin of this -English Sèvres we must go back to the year 1813, when we hear of the -agents of London dealers buying up white and slightly decorated Sèvres -soft paste. Any enamel colour on them was removed by hydrofluoric acid, -and the surface was richly decorated in the Pompadour style. Randall -soon after this time was engaged with similar work in London: his -turquoise blues are especially praised. - -[Illustration: Plate XLVII - -_Water-colour Drawing. Enamel Painters at work._] - -SWANSEA AND NANTGARW.--At the beginning of the nineteenth century some -works at Swansea, where a so-called ‘opaque porcelain’ had been lately -manufactured, were purchased by Mr. Lewis W. Dillwyn. Mr. Dillwyn was a -keen naturalist: he induced Mr. Young, a draughtsman who had been -employed by him in illustrating works on natural history, to learn the -art of enamel-painting on porcelain. Young devoted himself to painting -birds, shells, and above all butterflies. In spite of the aim at -scientific accuracy, the artistic effect of these delicately painted -butterflies, scattered here and there over the dead white paste, is not -unpleasant. There were some good specimens of this form of decoration in -the old Jermyn Street collection, but most of them, I think, are not -painted on a true porcelain. - -Meantime, at Nantgarw (_Anglicè_ Nantgarrow), some ten miles north of -Cardiff, a small porcelain factory had been established by one William -Beely and his son-in-law, Samuel Walker. - -Mr. Dillwyn, who visited the Nantgarw works in 1814, at the instigation -of his friend Sir Joseph Banks, found these two men making an admirable -soft-paste porcelain, remarkable for its translucency. ‘I agreed with -them,’ so Mr. Dillwyn reported, ‘for a removal to the Cambrian pottery -[_i.e._ to Swansea], where two new kilns were prepared under their -direction. When endeavouring to improve and strengthen this beautiful -body, I was surprised at receiving a notice from Messrs. Flight and Barr -of Worcester, charging the parties calling themselves Walker and Beely -with having clandestinely left an engagement at their works.’ - -Beely was in fact no other than Billingsley, the wandering artist and -‘arcanist’ who in 1774 was apprenticed to Duesbury at Derby, and had -there learned the art of painting flowers on porcelain. We hear that in -1793 he was also landlord of the ‘Nottingham Arms,’ but in spite, or -perhaps rather in consequence, of thus having two strings to his bow, -he soon after left Derby, and for twenty years led a roving life. In -1796 he was at Pinxton, and it was here, says Mr. W. Turner (_The -Ceramics of Swansea and Nantgarw_), whom I now follow, that he perfected -his famous granulated frit body. Then follows an obscure period, during -which we hear of Billingsley at Mansfield, and again as a china -manufacturer at Torksey, in Lincolnshire. Finally, in 1808, he settled -down to work at Worcester under the name of Beely. His later migrations -to Nantgarw, to Swansea, and finally to Coalport, we have already -referred to. - -Three years after Billingsley’s removal to Swansea, the manufacture of -porcelain was abandoned by Mr. Dillwyn: this was in 1817, barely six -years from the time when Billingsley started the Nantgarw works. - -It is not quite certain whether the marks that distinguish the two -wares--‘Nantgarw’ above the letters ‘C. W.’ in one case, ‘Swansea’ -sometimes with the addition of a trident (PL. E. 80) in the other--can -always be relied on to distinguish the two factories: the former mark -may have continued in use after the removal to Swansea. - -The paste of some of the ware made at Swansea was very different from -that of Billingsley’s glassy porcelain. We know that both china-clay and -steatite from the Lizard were employed here, producing a somewhat hard -and opaque body. - -Apart from their paste, renowned for its absolute whiteness and -considerable translucency, Billingsley and his pupils, Pardoe and -Walker, have acquired a certain fame by their enamel-painting on this -Nantgarw porcelain. Life-size roses, auriculas, tulips, and lilies were -their favourite flowers. This was the culmination, as it were, of the -school that delighted above all in the double rose, a not very paintable -flower, at least in a decorative point of view. We saw its beginnings at -Derby more than thirty years before this time. But Baxter the younger, -whom we have come across at his father’s workshop in Gough Square, -painted figure-subjects on the Swansea porcelain, and some of the -translucent ware of the Nantgarw type was sent up to London unenamelled, -there to be converted into the old soft paste of Sèvres. - - * * * * * - -Before we return to the West of England to treat of the true hard -porcelain of Plymouth and Bristol, there remain to be mentioned briefly -a few unimportant factories of soft paste--unimportant, that is, from -the point of view of art. - - -LOWESTOFT.--Taking advantage of some suitable clay found in the -neighbourhood, and of the fine silvery sand of the shore, a manufactory -of soft paste was established at Lowestoft about 1756. Later on we find -some references to a ‘Lowestoft Porcelain Company.’ The ware produced -was chiefly blue and white, with views of the neighbourhood, but other -small pieces are found crudely painted in colour. The execution of much -of this ware is very summary, and the glaze is often dull and spotted. A -blue and white plate in the British Museum, with _poudré_ ground and -panels painted with views of Lowestoft and the neighbourhood, is an -unusually favourable specimen. More commonly we find jugs and ink-pots -with inscriptions--‘A Trifle from Lowestoft,’ etc.--and with dates in -one or two cases ranging from 1762 to 1789. Whether any hard porcelain -from other sources was ever painted at Lowestoft is very doubtful.[242] - -The ‘Lowestoft porcelain’ of the dealers is now known to have been -painted by Chinese artists at Canton. That this is so was conclusively -proved many years ago by Sir A. W. Franks. The thrashing out of the -question had the advantage of throwing much light on the origin of this -curious pseudo-European decoration. The greater part of this porcelain -painted at Canton is covered with elaborate armorial designs, and it was -made not only for England but for other European countries that traded -with the East. The history of this Sinico-European ware is well -illustrated in a large collection brought together chiefly by the late -Sir A. W. Franks and now in the British Museum.[243] - -LIVERPOOL.--Pottery had been an article of export from Liverpool from an -early date, and much of the ware exported (it went above all to America) -was made in the neighbourhood. During the sixties of the eighteenth -century more than one of the local potters began to make a soft-paste -porcelain. One of these men--Richard Chaffers--we find scouring the -county of Cornwall in search of soap-stone and china-clay, as early -probably as the year 1755. Professor Church gives the recipe for the -‘china body’ used in 1769 by another potter--Pennington. The materials -are bone-ash, Lynn sand, flint, and clay,[244] the latter probably from -Cornwall. - -There is a good deal of uncertainty as to the identification of the -Liverpool china: some of it has perhaps been classed as Worcester or -Salopian. Examples of the ware attributed to this town may be found at -South Kensington; they are somewhat rudely printed in a heavy dark blue. -But it is probable that very little true porcelain was made at Liverpool -in the eighteenth century. - -Early in the next century an important factory for pottery and -porcelain was founded on the opposite side of the Mersey, and thither -many workmen were brought from Staffordshire. Porcelain was made there -until the year 1841. The ware was marked ‘Herculaneum,’ the name of the -works. We find at times a bird holding a branch in its beak used as a -mark. This is the ‘liver,’ the crest of the town of Liverpool. The -liver, indeed, is occasionally found on ware of an earlier date. - -PINXTON.--Our chief interest in the factory established in 1795 at -Pinxton, on the borders of Derbyshire and Northampton, by John Coke, is -derived from the temporary residence there of Billingsley. This was his -first stopping-place after leaving the Derby works: here he remained -until 1801, and it was here, probably, that he developed the ‘china -body’ used by him afterwards at Nantgarw. There were some pleasing -specimens of the Pinxton ware in the old Jermyn Street collection simply -decorated with ‘French twigs’ in blue and green. The ice-pail at South -Kensington, with canary ground and frieze of roses, illustrated in -Professor Church’s little book, was probably painted by Billingsley. - -At CHURCH GRESLEY, in the extreme south of Derbyshire, an ambitious -attempt to make a porcelain of high quality nearly ruined Sir Nigel -Gresley, the representative of the old family long settled there. This -was in 1795, and after three successive owners had sunk their fortunes -in the factory, the works were finally closed in 1808. I can point to no -example of porcelain that can with certainty be attributed to these -kilns. Pottery and encaustic tiles are, however, still made in the -district. - -ROCKINGHAM PORCELAIN.--At Swinton, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, not -far from Sheffield, pottery-works were established in the eighteenth -century on the estates of the Wentworth family. These potteries were -called after the Marquis of Rockingham, who was more than once at the -head of the Government, and the name was carried over to the porcelain -which was made there by Thomas Brameld in the next century. This -factory was in existence from 1820 to 1842, and the ware turned out well -represents the taste of the time. ‘Brameld,’ we are told, ‘spared no -labour or cost in bringing his porcelain to perfection, and in the -painting and gilding he employed the best artists.’ The ornate -dinner-services made by him for William IV. and other royal personages -probably surpassed in elaborate decoration and expense of production -anything of the kind ever made in England. At South Kensington is a -gigantic vase--it is more than three feet in height,--on the top is a -gilt rhinoceros, an oak branch embraces the sides, the base is modelled -in the form of three paws, and the whole body of the vase is covered -with a series of highly finished pictures, chiefly flower pieces. This -vase is a unique example of everything that should be avoided in the -modelling and decoration of porcelain. On some of the Rockingham china -we find a griffin as a mark, in honour of Lord Fitzwilliam, who had -succeeded to the Wentworth estates on the death of his uncle, Lord -Rockingham. - - * * * * * - -Already, at the commencement of the nineteenth century, the manufacture -of porcelain in England was beginning to be concentrated in the hands of -a few large firms in the pottery district of North Staffordshire, and -here a definite type of ‘china body’ was established suitable for -practical use. Bone-ash mixed with china-stone and china-clay from -Cornwall were and still remain the essential constituents of this paste: -to these materials ground flints are sometimes added. - -Although it is apart from our purpose to trace the history of the great -Staffordshire firms, we must say a word of one family--the Spodes of -Stoke-upon-Trent. The firm founded by them was in a measure the common -centre from which the later establishments had their origin. Josiah -Spode the elder had been making pottery of various kinds at Stoke since -the year 1749; he it was who introduced the blue willow pattern to the -Staffordshire potteries. It was to his son, the second Josiah, that the -credit of first using bone-ash as an ingredient of porcelain was so long -ascribed. The statement thus put is of course absurd. His real merit lay -in abandoning the use of a frit and adopting a china-body consisting -simply of a mixture of china-stone and china-clay from Cornwall, with a -large proportion of bone-ash, and thus settling once for all the -composition of the industrial porcelain of England, a ware differing in -many respects from the eighteenth century soft pastes, and one capable -of being manufactured on a large scale without the risks that always -attended the firing of the latter. His ‘felspar porcelain,’ often so -marked, is of less consequence, but by using pure felspar instead of -china-stone he forestalled the practice since adopted by many -continental works, where felspar of Scandinavian origin is now largely -used. - -Later on, when William Copeland joined the firm, they became the most -important makers of porcelain and earthenware in England, and the -Continent was inundated with their wares. The founder of the rival firm -of Minton was a Shropshire man: at the end of the eighteenth century he -had been apprenticed to Turner at Caughley, and he, too, worked at one -time in the Spode factory. At a later date both firms claimed the credit -for the invention of an improved kind of biscuit, the Parian ware, of -which much was heard about the middle of the last century. - -There is at South Kensington a representative collection of the finer -Spode wares, presented by a niece of the second Josiah. Great technical -perfection was attained, and the enamel colours are remarkably brilliant -and effective. I have already referred to a large tray, on which the -brocade pattern of the old Imari is seen in the last stage of decay. The -elements of the design have fallen to pieces, and lie helplessly -scattered over the surface. Yet this is a carefully finished piece, and -the enamels are of good quality. I take this tray as a typical example -of a style of decoration with coloured enamels both on porcelain and -earthenware which prevailed not many years ago on wares in domestic use. -Along with the transfer-printed _camaïeu_ mentioned on page 360, these -wares found their way to most parts of Europe and America. - -BELLEEK.--Probably the last attempt that has been made with us to -establish a new factory of porcelain was at Belleek, near Lough Erne, in -northern Ireland. Here, under the direction of Mr. Armstrong, a very -fine and translucent paste was first made in 1857, and a peculiar -nacreous lustre was given to the ware by the use of a glaze prepared -with a salt of bismuth. The local felspar was employed together with -china-clay brought from Cornwall. Some care was given to the modelling -in imitation of shells and corals. Little of this ware, which may be -classed as a hard-paste porcelain, has been made of recent years. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -ENGLISH PORCELAIN--(_continued_). - -THE HARD PASTE OF PLYMOUTH AND BRISTOL - - -The manufacture of true porcelain had but a short life in England. The -ware has no especial artistic merit, nor was it ever commercially of -much importance. And yet in the history of this short-lived attempt to -imitate the porcelain of China and Saxony, we find so many points (in -the composition and technique of the ware above all) that illustrate and -confirm what we have said in some early chapters, that we shall have to -follow up this history somewhat closely. - -Moreover, the two men, thanks to whose energy and scientific knowledge -the difficulties attending the first manufacture of the new substance -were overcome, interest us in more ways than one. There is, in the first -place, Cookworthy the quaker, who, once he had solved the practical -problem that had hitherto baffled all the potters and arcanists of -England and France, was content to return to a quiet life among the -little _coterie_ of ‘friends’ at Plymouth. The other is Champion, the -friend of Burke, who, after his business had been ruined by the American -War, preferred to end his life as a farmer in the new country, with -whose struggle for independence he had throughout sympathised. - -The two letters of the Père D’Entrecolles on the manufacture of -porcelain in China were known through their publication in Du Halde’s -collection soon after the date (1722) at which the second one was -written. The search for the essential constituents of a true porcelain -at once began. One of the first results of this search was the -appearance of the ‘Unaker, the produce of the Cherokee nation of -America,’ which is mentioned in Frye’s patent of 1744. Shortly after the -middle of the century, as we learn from Borlase’s _History of Cornwall_ -(published in 1758), the attention of more than one manufacturer of -porcelain was directed to that county. But no one probably was so well -equipped for the search as William Cookworthy, the druggist of -Plymouth--he was already thoroughly acquainted with the geology of the -county. Cookworthy, too, must have carefully studied the letters of the -Jesuit missionary. In the memoir written by him at a later date (it is -given in full in Owen’s _Two Centuries of Ceramic Art at Bristol_) he -clearly distinguishes ‘the _petunse_, the _Caulin_, and the _Wha-she_,’ -or soapy rock.[245] - -In fact it is this that gives to Cookworthy so important a place in the -history of porcelain. He was probably the first in Europe to attack -practically, and finally to conquer, the problem of making a true -porcelain strictly on the lines of the Chinese as interpreted by the -Père D’Entrecolles. Böttger’s success, if one is to accept the official -German account, was rather the result of some happy accident--an -accident, it is true, of which only a man of genius knows how to avail -himself. - -Cookworthy had his attention directed to the subject by an American -quaker, of whom he writes, in May 1745: ‘I had lately with me the person -who hath discovered the China-earth. He had several examples of the -China ware of their making with him, which were, I think, equal to the -Asiatic; ... having read Du Halde, he discovered both the China-stone -and the Caulin.’[246] - -Both the petuntse and the ‘Caulin’ were first identified by Cookworthy -at Tregonnin Hill (between Marazion and Helston)--this was about 1750. -The nature and mode of occurrence of both the growan or moor-stone and -of the growan clay, to use the local names, are admirably described by -him. Soon after this he found the two materials at St. Stephen’s, -between Truro and St. Austell, in the centre of what is now the great -china-clay district of Cornwall. - -There must have been many experiments with the new materials, and many -failures, before the year 1768, when Cookworthy took out his patent, and -with the pecuniary assistance of Thomas Pitt of Boconnoc (later Lord -Camelford) started his factory at Plymouth. It is doubtful whether this -factory was in existence for more than two years. In any case there is -evidence that already, by the year 1770, the ‘Plymouth New Invented -Porcelain Manufactory’ was at work at Bristol. - -We have proof, too, that before this time Richard Champion and others -had been working in the latter town with the new Cornish materials. -Champion had been asked by Lord Hyndford to make a report upon some -kaolin sent to him from South Carolina. In his reply he says: ‘I had it -tried at a manufactory set up some time ago on the principle of the -Chinese porcelain, but not being successful, is given up.... The -proprietors of the works in Bristol imagined they had discovered in -Cornwall all the materials similar to the Chinese; but though they burnt -the body part tolerably well, yet there were impurities in the glaze or -stone which were insurmountable even in the greatest fire they could -give it, and which was equal to the Glasshouse heat.... I have sent some -[_i.e_. of the Carolina clay] to Worcester, but this and all the English -porcelains being composed of frits, there is no probability of success.’ -This is written in February 1766, before the date of Cookworthy’s -patent.[247] - -Meantime, in France, two men of some scientific pretensions, both of -them members of the _Académie des Sciences_, Lauraguais[248] and -D’Arcet, had discovered the kaolin deposits near Alençon. Lauraguais had -soon after 1760 succeeded in making some kind of porcelain with the -materials he had found. He was, however, forestalled by Guettard, a -rival chemist in the service of the Duke of Orleans, who in November -1765 read a paper before the _Académie_ on the kaolin and petuntse of -Alençon. Lauraguais, in disgust, after a violent rejoinder, came over to -England. - -In a curious letter dated April 1766, Dr. Darwin, writing to Wedgwood, -says: ‘Count Laragaut has been at Birmingham & offer’d ye Secret of -making ye finest old China as cheap as your Pots. He says ye materials -are in England. That ye secret has cost £16,000--y^{t}He will sell it -for £2000--He is a Man of Science, dislikes his own Country, was six -months in ye Bastile for speaking against ye Government--loves every -thing English’; but, adds Darwin, ‘I suspect his Scientific Passion is -stronger than perfect Sanity’ (Miss Meteyard, _Life of Wedgwood_, vol. -i. p. 436). Lauraguais, in 1766, proposed to take out a patent for -making not only the coarser species of china, but ‘the more beautiful -ware of the Indies and the finest of Japan.’ The specification was never -enrolled, and nothing came of it. There exist, however, a few specimens -of china marked with the letters B. L. (Brancas Lauraguais) in a flowing -hand, which are attributed to the Count.[249] The paste, says Professor -Church, is fine, hard, and of good colour. An analysis gives 58 per -cent. of silica, 36 per cent. of alumina, and 6 per cent. of other -bases. It will be observed that the percentage of alumina in this -porcelain is exceptionally high. - -We see, therefore, that before the year 1770, when Cookworthy removed to -Bristol, true porcelain had been made in more than one place in England, -but not with enough success to allow the new ware to compete with the -soft pastes of Worcester and elsewhere. So in France, although the new -paste was introduced at Sèvres in 1769, it was only in 1774, so -Brongniart tells us, that the manufacture of hard porcelain was firmly -established. - -Champion seems to have been on friendly terms with Cookworthy, and in -1773 he bought from the latter the entire patent rights. In the two -previous years much of the new porcelain had been made. It is claimed -for it in advertisements that, unlike the English china generally, it -will wear as well as the East Indian, and that the enamelled porcelain, -though nearly as cheap as the English blue and white, ‘comes very near, -and in some pieces equals, the Dresden, which this work more -particularly imitates.’ This is from a local journal of November 1772, -and we may add that not only the ware was imitated, but also the -well-known marks of Dresden.[250] - -Now, if we turn from these general considerations to examine the nature -of the West of England ware, we find some difficulty in drawing a line -between the early, partly experimental, porcelain made at Plymouth and -the later, more successful, products of the Bristol kilns. Nor will the -mark, the alchemist’s sign for Jupiter[251] (PL. E. 83), first used on -the Plymouth porcelain, help us much, for the same mark was certainly -used to some extent after Cookworthy’s migration to Bristol. - -To Plymouth we must attribute the plain white ware with a glaze of dull -hue, disfigured by dark lines where the glaze lies thick in the -interstices. Cookworthy, we know, attempted to make his glaze from the -Cornish stone without the addition of any other substances.[252] In -other cases he followed the recipe given by the Père D’Entrecolles, and -gave greater fusibility to the growan-stone by adding a small quantity -of a frit made from a mixture of lime and fern ashes. Cookworthy even -ventured to follow the Chinese plan, and applied the glaze to the raw - -[Illustration: _PLATE XLVIII._ 1--PLYMOUTH, WHITE GLAZED WARE -2--BRISTOL, COLOURED ENAMELS] - -or very slightly baked paste. The blue and white made by him, if we may -judge from the little mug in the British Museum, with the arms of -Plymouth and the date, March 14, 1768, was of very poor quality. The -Oriental designs on his enamelled porcelain seem to have come to him by -way of Chantilly. More successful was the plain white ware modelled in -relief, in a way that often calls to mind the early work of Bow. A good -example is the ‘Tridacna’ salt-cellar in the former Jermyn Street -collection. - -At least one French modeller and enameller was employed at Plymouth, and -after the removal to Bristol we find the name of a German also. Henry -Bone, a Truro man, who afterwards became famous as a miniature-painter -in enamels, entered the works at Bristol as a lad, and passed there the -six years of his apprenticeship. Bone, who later on wrote R.A. after his -name, was the principal representative in England of the school of -painters in enamel upon slabs of porcelain, that played so important a -part at Sèvres at the beginning of the last century. At one time a -modeller of some skill must have been employed. Perhaps this was the -mysterious Soqui or Le Quoi.[253] Some little statuettes in the -Schreiber collection at South Kensington, ‘the Seasons,’ as represented -by boys and girls, are charmingly modelled. But we must not look for any -brilliancy of colour in the enamels. The highly infusible nature of the -paste, and what is even more important, of the glaze, added immensely to -the difficulty of obtaining anything of the kind. If we compare the -enamels on these statuettes with those on the Chelsea and Derby figures -in the same collection, the difference is at once apparent. The two most -important colours in the latter wares, the rose-pink and the turquoise, -it was impossible to develop at the high temperature required to soften -the refractory glaze of the hard porcelain. The greens, however, and the -coral reds of the Bristol figures are more successful. In the -specifications of 1775 there is mention of a glaze containing much -kaolin mixed with some arsenic and tin oxide.[254] Such a glaze might -allow of more brilliancy in the enamels, and it is to be noticed in this -connection that some statuettes long classed as Chelsea have only -comparatively lately been recognised as consisting of the Bristol paste. - -Perhaps what we may regard as the most remarkable, certainly the most -original, work produced by Champion are the little circular or oval -plaques of white biscuit. These medallions vary from four to nine inches -in diameter. The central field contains a coat-of-arms modelled in low -relief, or more rarely a portrait bust, and among these last we find -heads of Benjamin Franklin and of George Washington, pointing to the -political sympathies of Champion. A wreath of flowers in full relief -surrounds the field--the sharpness and the finish in the modelling of -these minute leaves and blossoms has never been approached in this or -other material. In the manner of treatment, these wreaths are thoroughly -English, and we are reminded of the flowers carved in wood by Grinling -Gibbons (PL. XLIX.). - -Champion made also a commoner ware, which he called ‘cottage china.’ -This was summarily decorated in colours without any gilding. The glaze -on this ware was applied over the raw paste, on the Chinese plan that -had already been tried by Cookworthy. - -Champion was an active politician and a vehement - -[Illustration: _PLATE XLIX._ 1--BRISTOL, WHITE BISCUIT 2--BRISTOL, -WHITE GLAZED WARE] - -supporter of the American colonists in their dispute with the mother -country. The visit of Edmund Burke to Bristol in 1774, and his election -as member for the city, may be regarded as the climax of his career. -Then it was that the famous tea-set was presented by Champion and his -wife to Mrs. Burke, as a _pignus amicitiæ_. Still more elaborately -decorated was the other service that Burke gave to Mrs. Smith, the wife -of the friend of Champion, at whose house he stayed on this occasion. -The shapes and the decoration of this service were founded on Dresden -models, and the wreaths of laurels that formed an essential part of the -design afforded a good field for the display of the green colour in -which Champion excelled. - -But Champion’s troubles were now to begin. In 1775 his petition to -Parliament for a renewal of his patent was vigorously opposed by -Wedgwood. Champion must have been put to great expense--he exhibited -before a committee of the House some selected specimens of his -porcelain. He, however, won his case, though the monopoly in the -employment of the Cornish clays was restricted to their use as a -material for _transparent_ wares, a point of some importance to the -Staffordshire potter. But meantime the American War was ruining his -business--for Champion was in the first place a merchant trading with -the West Indies and America--and it is probable that little porcelain -was made by him after 1777. The next year Wedgwood, his inveterate -opponent, in a letter to Bentley, says of him, ‘Poor Champion, you may -have heard, is quite demolished.... I suppose we might buy some -Growan-stone and Growan-clay now upon easy terms.’ In 1781, after a long -negotiation, he disposed of his patent to some Staffordshire potters, -and shortly after this he emigrated to America. Champion was only -forty-eight years old when, in 1791, he died at his new home in South -Carolina. - -As Professor Church has pointed out, the paste of the Bristol porcelain -is of exceptional hardness. It is, in fact, in some specimens as hard as -quartz, that is, say, the hardness is equal to 7 in the scale of the -mineralogist: the hardness of Oriental porcelain, it will be remembered, -varies between 6 and 6·5; the glaze on the Bristol china is about 6 on -the same scale. The fractured surface may be described as subconchoidal -and somewhat flaky, with a greasy to vitreous lustre. On the Plymouth -and Bristol wares, especially on the larger vases, may often be seen, -when viewed in a favourable light, certain spiral ridges, the result of -the unequal pressure of the ‘thrower’s’ hand. Similar ridges may indeed -be observed at times on other hard paste wares, both Chinese and -European, and this ‘wreathing’ or _vissage_, as Brongniart long ago -pointed out, is the result of the _too great plasticity_ of the clay,--a -clay may, in fact, be too ‘fat’ to work well on the wheel. This -plasticity, however, would be of advantage to the modeller, especially -when working on a very small scale; indeed the delicate floral reliefs -in biscuit, on the plaques we have already spoken of, could only have -been made from a fine and unctuous clay. How refractory to heat this -same paste is, was well proved by the fire at the Alexandra Palace in -1873, when so many fine specimens of English porcelain were destroyed. A -biscuit plaque or medallion of Bristol porcelain passed uninjured (by -heat at least) through this fire, while the soft porcelain alongside of -it was completely melted. - -The paste, then, of this Bristol ware is remarkable both for its -resistance to heat and for its great plasticity. These are both -qualities that point to an excess of kaolin in its composition, and this -excess is confirmed by analysis. Professor Church found in a specimen of -Bristol china 63 per cent. of silica, 33 per cent. of alumina, and only -4 per cent. of lime and alkalis. The percentage of alumina is about the -same as that in the hard pastes of Meissen and of Sèvres, but the small -amount of the other bases is quite exceptional. A paste of this -composition would contain about 65 per cent. of kaolin. - -And here, before ending, we may for a moment return to what is, perhaps, -the crucial point of all in the composition of true porcelain--for it is -one that has a radical influence both on the technical and on the -artistic side. The first question we must ask when inquiring into the -composition of any specimen of porcelain is this--What proportion of -kaolin enters into its composition? Or if it is a matter of the primary -constituents of the paste--What is the percentage of alumina that it -contains? Now we may consider the composition of kaolin, after removing -the water, to be silica 54 per cent. and alumina 46 per cent., and the -nearer the composition of our porcelain approaches to these figures, the -greater will be its hardness, its resistance to fire, and the greater -also the plasticity of the paste--the greater in fact will be what we -have called the ‘severity’ of the type.[255] - -Now for the other component of porcelain, the petuntse or china-stone. -The composition of this material differs widely, but let us take the -mean of some analyses of Cornish stone. On this basis we may take silica -72 per cent., alumina 18 per cent., other bases 10 per cent., as our -type. The result of adding such a material to our kaolin will be to -increase the percentage of silica and of the ‘other bases,’ and to -diminish the percentage of alumina in the resultant mixture. Our paste -now becomes less plastic and the resultant porcelain more readily -softened by heat, but at the same time less hard. - -So far every one would be agreed. But the question now arises, are we to -attribute this increased fusibility to the higher percentage of the -other bases (these are, in the case of European porcelain, practically -lime and potash), or in a measure at least to the increased amount of -silica in the paste? We have here three variants, the silica, the -alumina, and the ‘other bases,’ and the case is therefore somewhat -complicated. I think, however, that the careful examination of any table -giving the composition of various types of porcelain would show that up -to a certain point an increase in the amount of silica promotes a lower -softening-point in the paste, and this in cases where there is no -important change in the proportion of the ‘other bases.’ I will -illustrate this by comparing the composition of the severe hard paste of -Sèvres on the one hand with an analysis of a mild type of Chinese -porcelain on the other:-- - - Sèvres hard paste (1843). Chinese porcelain. - - Silica, 58 per cent. 70·5 per cent. - Alumina, 34·5 ” 21 ” - Other bases, 7·5 ” 7·5 ” - -No doubt, if the percentage of silica is further increased, say beyond -78 or 80 per cent., we get again a practically infusible body. But with -a paste of this composition the resultant ware is no longer -translucent--we pass from the region of porcelain to a true stoneware. - -Thus we see that in composition a mild porcelain forms a middle term -between stoneware on the one hand, and a severe porcelain on the other. -In other words, stoneware cannot be regarded as an extreme type of a -refractory porcelain. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN PORCELAIN - - -We have seen that in England the new aims and the new schemes of -decoration that have so profoundly affected most of our industrial arts -have so far had little influence upon the porcelain manufactured by the -large Staffordshire firms. Here and there, as by Mr. Bernard Moore of -Longton, an attempt has been made to take up the problem of the _flambé_ -glazes, which has so fascinated the French potters. Mr. Moore has -succeeded in making some _sang de bœuf_ vases which in outline and -colour closely follow the Chinese models. Otherwise the many skilful -artists--more than one of them, I think, are Frenchmen--employed by our -porcelain manufacturers have been content to follow in the main the old -traditions, nor has any occasional attempt that has been made to -imitate, not the latest but rather the work of the last generation at -Sèvres, produced any very satisfactory results. It cannot be denied that -both in the design and in the decoration our English porcelain has, for -some time, remained outside the art movement of the day. - -Indeed at the present time, and for the last twenty years, whatever of -interest we can find in the contemporary production of porcelain, -centres in two factories--Sèvres and Copenhagen. To the latter works we -must now return for a moment. - -The royal factory, of which we have already spoken, was closed after the -disastrous war of 1864. But during the eighties a number of able men, -both artists and men of science, occupied themselves with the new -porcelain problems, and in 1888 a fresh company was formed, the -‘Alumina.’ These men--I will only mention Philip Schou--were much -impressed by the technical and artistic merits of the porcelain lately -sent from Japan, highly finished ware decorated under the glaze with -great delicacy and generally in subdued colours. They were influenced -above all by the work of the Japanese potter Miyagawa Kozan, called -Makudzo. The Danish porcelain produced during the nineties is -distinguished as a whole by its cool, subdued colours, with a prevalence -of various pearly tints approaching more or less to celadon. In the -carefully executed but boldly designed decoration, we see the influence -both of the Japanese naturalists and of the impressionist painters of -the day. The snow scenes, the rocks, the dancing waves and the sea birds -have been suggested by the stormy coasts of the Baltic and the North -Sea. It is from the primitive rocks of this coast that the pure felspar, -which plays so large a part both in the paste and in the glaze, has been -obtained. - -It was at Copenhagen probably that the crystalline glazes, derived from -salts of bismuth, were first made--this was by Engelhart, about 1884. - -At a rival Danish factory--that of Bing and Gröndhal--many clever -artists, some of them ladies, have modelled in porcelain figures of -animals either in the round or in relief on the sides of vases: we find -dogs, cats, and even seals (but not the human figure). Indeed in this -kind of work something in the nature of a school has grown up. - -Fresh life has lately been given to the old works at Rörstrand, near -Stockholm. Here in the underglaze decoration the same cool, pearly -colours that we find in favour at Copenhagen are predominant. Great -care has lately been devoted to the modelling of flowers. - -At the Rozenburg works, near the Hague, a new paste has been invented by -Juriann Kok. The extraordinary tenacity and plasticity of this material -allows of its being worked into the strangest forms--some of the vases, -with long, thin, angular handles, suggest work in hammered metal. By -means of a fantastic decoration--quaint, elongated figures, and forms of -marine life, such as the long-clawed Japanese lobster--a certain -original _cachet_ has been given to this ware. - -The Charlottenburg works, near Berlin, have lately felt the influence -both of Copenhagen and of the new school of Sèvres. Everything has been -lately tried--sculpturesque developments in various directions, and -again the decoration of large wall surfaces with porcelain plaques -enamelled so as to resemble oil pictures; but as in former days, so now, -the technical and scientific side of this industry tends to prevail over -the artistic. - -M. Édouard Garnier, the late director of the Museum at Sèvres, in a -report upon the porcelain exhibited at Paris in 1900, has ably summed up -his impressions of the wares now being manufactured in various parts of -Europe, and I cannot do better than follow so excellent an authority in -his ‘appreciations’ of this modern porcelain. - -M. Garnier dates the latest renaissance of European porcelain from the -new ground struck out in the seventies, not only at Sèvres, by Deck and -others, but also in many private kilns, as by Bracquemont in Paris and -by Haviland in the Limoges district. What specially distinguishes the -latest work is the advantage taken of the new colours that can now be -employed with the _grand feu_ so as to participate in the brilliancy and -purity of the glaze. A delicacy of tone, a transparency and a harmony -are now obtainable which contrasts favourably with the dry and dull -colours of the old methods of painting. On the other hand, says M. -Garnier, the progress in chemical knowledge has been so rapid that the -new processes and colours have tended to become the masters of the -artists who employ them, instead of remaining subtle tools in their -hands. - -This tendency is especially noticeable at Copenhagen, and the -crystalline glazes, derived from bismuth, that have spread thence all -over Europe, are a case in point. So again, starting from the _flambé_ -glaze of the Chinese, the modern potter is inclined to run riot with the -numerous new materials at his command. - -At Sèvres--I follow M. Garnier’s report--advantage has been taken of the -new porcelain paste (that of the ‘milder’ Chinese type) to revive in the -biscuit ware the reproductions of works of sculpture for which the -factory was so renowned in the days of the _pâte tendre_. The pureness -and softness of the material and the skill of the manipulation are -noteworthy apart from the artistic merit of the work. (Let me here call -attention to the fifteen figures by Léonard, ‘_Le Jeu de l’Écharpe_,’ in -the new biscuit ware.) This revolution in the style of decoration has -now spread to other parts of France, and has affected the great -commercial factories of the south-west, especially the ware made by the -firm of Haviland. - -English porcelain was but poorly represented at Paris in 1900; besides, -as we have said, it is in other branches of the potter’s art that we -have to look for a reflection of our new native school of decoration. It -is indeed a curious fact that many of the designs that we associate with -Morris and his followers may be found rather upon the wares of -Copenhagen and Sèvres than on our English porcelain. I cannot, however, -pass over some criticisms of M. Garnier, in which he falls foul of -certain tendencies in the fashioning and decoration of the wares turned -out by our big Staffordshire firms. As to how far these criticisms are -merited, any one may form an opinion for himself by a glance at the -shop-windows of London. ‘The English paste,’ says M. Garnier, ‘is of a -special nature which lends itself admirably both to the shaping and to -the decoration; the execution is _hors ligne_, but this is accompanied -by an overloading of detail, a heaviness in the decoration, and a want -of harmony and proportion between the different parts of the piece that -cause one to regret that so much talent and care have been employed only -to arrive at so very unsatisfactory a result. Besides this, we notice in -the English _céramiste_ a want of sincerity, with the result that at -first sight you cannot tell what manner of substance you are looking at, -whether it is porcelain or dirty ivory, or again a gilt ceramic ware -rather than a bronze with a poor patina.’ A curious point in connection -with this criticism is that, if I am not mistaken, a good deal of the -work thus severely dealt with has been designed, if not executed, by -French artists. It is made, however, to satisfy the demand of our great -unleavened middle-class. - -Turning to the porcelain from the royal works at Charlottenburg, M. -Garnier finds fault with the exuberance and overloading of the -sculptures and reliefs. But certain large architectural pieces and some -frames in rococo style, in pure white ware, excite his admiration, for -the beauty of the paste, the purity and the limpidity of the glaze, and -the marvellous way in which the technical difficulties of the execution -have been surmounted; so, too, for the brilliancy of the colouring and -the way in which the enamel colours combine with and form one material -with the glaze, as if one were looking at a soft-paste ware. Above all, -in some pieces of the ‘new porcelain’--for the milder paste is now in -use at Berlin to some extent--the colours of the _grand feu_ and the -purity of the enamel are remarkable. - -At Meissen, says M. Garnier, they are still working on the old lines: -reproductions of the models made a century and a half ago by Kändler are -as much as ever in demand. Certain ambitious attempts in a newer style -have resulted in errors that will add nothing to the fame of the works. -(Dr. Heintze, the present director, has especially devoted himself to -the development of the new colours under the glaze. But the porcelain -now produced, apart from the copies of the old wares, follows in the -lines either of the Copenhagen porcelain, or again, at times, of the -coloured pastes of Sèvres.) - -Certain districts of Northern Bohemia have become of late centres of -ceramic industry. The predominant bad taste and over-decoration of the -porcelain made there (I still follow M. Garnier) is above all -exemplified in certain coloured statuettes, ‘_articles de bazar_ which -corrupt the taste of the public and whose sale ought to be prohibited.’ -An exception must be made for the produce of the Pirkenhausen works, -near Carlsbad. The marvellous plasticity of the paste, made from the -rich deposits of kaolin near Zottlitz, has been taken full advantage of, -not only on the wheel and in the mould; it has allowed also of the free -modelling of the superadded reliefs by the artist’s hand. - -The factory at Herend, in Hungary, founded in 1839, no longer turns out -the ware of Oriental style, so much admired by Brongniart, by Humboldt, -and by Thiers. Herr Fischer, the director and principal artist, has -lately made good imitations of the coloured pastes of Sèvres, with -leaves and branches in relief. - -At St. Petersburg the imitation of the over-decorated hard paste of -Sèvres has been abandoned in favour of the soft and harmonious colours -and the pure and limpid glazes of Copenhagen. The vases with designs of -white paste, in relief upon coloured grounds, in a manner now little in -favour at Sèvres, are less happy. At the Kousnetzoff factory, at Moscow, -a polychrome decoration, in imitation of Byzantine embroideries and -enamels, has been applied to tea-services of somewhat geometrical forms, -while the French porcelain of the time of Louis Philippe continues to be -imitated. - -At Copenhagen, says M. Garnier, the new porcelain, which since its -introduction in 1889 has been praised and exalted in all the art -journals of Europe, is still produced on the same lines. Not to speak of -the new and strange results already obtained from coloured and enamelled -glazes, greater experience in the use of the extended palette at the -command of the decorator has produced results in which we find an -admirable delicacy and restraint. It was, however, from Sèvres that the -impulse first came. We can trace it in the work turned out of late years -by Messrs. Bing and Gröndhal. But in place of the amiable and gracious -art of France we find here a severe, sometimes we might almost say a -rude, style, but one not without character and elevation. - -At Rörstrand, near Stockholm (see above, p. 388), the work still -continues on the lines of the older porcelain of Copenhagen (_i.e._ in -the style in favour ten or twelve years ago), with the same simplicity -and charm in the decoration and delicacy in the modelled relief. Perhaps -we may attribute to a special quality in the felspar of the north the -pure and refined quality so noticeable in the pastes and glazes. - -At Rozenburg, continues M. Garnier, a factory already well known for its -fayence, a very original kind of porcelain has lately been made. The -composition of the paste, though based on kaolin, presents some -peculiarities. The ware is of an incredible thinness and lightness, and -the strange decoration, based in part upon Japanese motives, is not -without charm and originality. The shapes of the vases, however, go too -far in the direction of eccentricity. (Cf. p. 389.) - -As at Meissen, so in the porcelain now made in Italy there is a total -absence of all personality and novelty, and the old, well-beaten road is -still followed. At Florence this is carried so far that the old moulds -acquired so many years ago from the Capo di Monte works are still in -use. ‘Ce sont des choses,’ says M. Garnier, ‘qui prêtent trop au -“truquage” et qu’il faut laisser aux fabricants de vieuxneuf.’ - - - - -EXPLANATION OF THE MARKS ON THE FOLLOWING PLATES (A. TO E.) - - -CHINESE MARKS - - 1. _Ta Ming Yung-lo_, 1402-1424. Mark of Yung-lo, engraved under - the glaze in early seal or ‘tadpole’ characters. - - 2. _Ta Ming Hsuan-te nien chi_, 1425-1435. - - 3. _Cheng-hua nien chi_, 1464-1487. - - 4. _Ta Ming Cheng-te nien chi_, 1505-1521. - - 5. _Ta Ming Kia-Tsing nien chi_, 1521-1566. - - 6. _Ta Ming Lung-king nien chi_, 1566-1572. - - 7. _Ta Ming Wan-li nien chi_, 1572-1619. - - 8. _Ta Tsing Kang-he nien chi_, 1661-1722. - - 9. _Ta Tsing Yung-cheng nien chi_, 1722-1735. - - 10. _Do._ _do_., in seal characters. - - 11. _Ta Tsing Kien-lung nien chi_, 1735-1795. Seal characters. - - 12. _Ta Tsing Kia-king nien chi_, 1795-1820. Seal characters. - - 13. _Ta Tsing Tao-kwang nien chi_, 1820-1850. Seal characters. - - 14. _Ta Tsing Tung-chi nien chi_, 1861-1874. Seal characters. - - 15. _Wan chang shan tu._ ‘Scholarship lofty as the Hills and the - Great Bear.’ - - 16. _Ki yuh pao ting chi chin._ ‘A gem among precious vessels of - rare jade.’ - - 17. _Shun-ti tang chi._ ‘Made at the Shun-ti (cultivation of - virtue) Hall.’ - - 18. _Tsae chuan chi lo._ ‘Enjoying themselves in the waters.’ - - 19. Conventionalised seal character for _Sho_--longevity. - - 19A. _Fu_, a bat, a synonym of _fu_--happiness. - - -JAPANESE MARKS - - 20. _Kai-raku yen sei._ ‘Made at the Kai-raku house.’ - - 21. _Ken-zan._ The maker’s name. - - 22. _Yei-raku._ The seal granted to Zengoro. Seal character. - - 23. _Fuku._ Happiness. (Chinese, _Fu_.) Seal character. - - 24. _Hopin chi liu._ (Japanese, _Ka hin shi riu_). _See_ p. 199 - note. - - -GERMAN MARKS - - 25. Meissen. The rod of Æsculapius. - - 26. Meissen. Monogram of Augustus II., King of Poland. - - 27. Meissen. Crossed swords and letter (for painter or director). - - 28. Vienna. The shield of Austria. - - 29. Höchst. The wheel of the Mainz archbishops, surmounted by a - cross. - - 30. Fürstenberg. The initial letter of the town. - - 31. Berlin. The sceptre carried by the Brandenburg elector as grand - chamberlain of the empire. - - 32. Frankenthal. Crowned lion of the palatinate; the monogram J. A. - H., probably for Joseph Adam Hannong. - - 33. Frankenthal. The monogram of Karl Theodor, surmounted by a - crown. - - 34. Nymphenburg. Quarter of shield with arms of Bavaria. - - 35. Ludwigsburg. Arms of Würtemberg. Three stag horns. - - 36. Ludwigsburg. Monogram of Duke Charles, surmounted by ducal - crown. - - 37. Fulda. Double F, for ‘Fürstliche Fuldaische.’ - - 38. Fulda. Cross from the arms of the prince bishop. - - 39. Herend. Below--the arms of Hungary. - - -DUTCH, DANISH, SWEDISH, AND RUSSIAN MARKS - - 40. Weesp. Crossed swords and three dots. Similar mark used - elsewhere. - - 41. Oude Loosdrecht. The ‘M:’ stands for manufactuur.’ - - 42. The Hague. The arms of the town. - - 43. Copenhagen. The wavy lines represent the ‘three Belts.’ - - 44. Sweden; Marieberg. The three crowns from the arms of Sweden. - - 45. Moscow. St. George surrounded by band, with inscription. Above, - the Russian eagle. - - 46. St. Petersburg. Monogram of Catherine II. (Ekaterina). - - -BELGIAN AND SWISS MARKS - - 47. Tournay. A tower, the arms of the town. - - 48. Tournay. Crossed swords and four crosses. - - 49. Zurich. German Z and two dots. - - 50. Nyon. A fish. - - -FRENCH MARKS - - 51. Saint-Cloud. The sun, emblem of Louis XIV. - - 52. Saint-Cloud. Initials of town and of director of factory--Trou. - - 53. Chantilly. A hunter’s horn. - - 54. Mennecy. D. V., for the Duc de Villeroy. - - 55. Vincennes. The initials of Louis XV. crossed, without - year-mark. - - 56. Vincennes. Initials of Louis XV.; year-mark for 1753, and - decorator’s mark (H.). - - 57. Sèvres. Time of First Empire. The 7 stands for 1807. - - 58. Sèvres. Double C, enclosing X, for Charles X. 24 for 1824. - - 59. Paris; Courtille. Two crossed arrows. - - 60. Orleans (?). Label with three points from ducal arms. - - 61. Paris; Clignancourt. The windmill of Montmartre. - - 62. Paris; Rue Thiroux. A, for Marie Antoinette, under a crown. - - -ITALIAN AND SPANISH MARKS - - 63. Venice. Incised. Probably of Vezzi family. - - 64. Venice. Anchor of Cozzi factory. - - 65. Le Nove. Star of eight points. - - 66. Vinovo. Cross of Savoy above letter V, for the town. - - 67. Madrid, Buen Retiro. The _fleur-de-lis_ from the royal arms. - - -ENGLISH MARKS - - 68. Chelsea. Triangle, incised. - - 69. Chelsea. Anchor, in relief. - - 70. Chelsea. Anchor. - - 71. Bow. Anchor and dagger. - - 72. Bow. Monogram of Thomas Frye. (?) Perhaps sometimes a Worcester - mark. - - 73. Chelsea-Derby. Anchor and letter D. - - 74. Derby. Jewelled crown, crossed batons, with dots and letter D. - - 75. Derby. Jewelled crown and letter D. - - 76. Worcester. Imitation of Chinese characters. - - 77. Worcester. Crescent. - - 78. Worcester. Imitation Chinese seal character. - - 79. Worcester. Crossed swords and number. - - 80. Swansea. Trident. - - 81. Longton Hall. Crossed L’s and dots. - - 82. Plymouth. The symbol for tin. - - 83. Bristol. Symbol for tin, with a cross. - - 84. Bristol. Crossed swords, erased. - -[Illustration: PLATE A.--CHINESE MARKS] - -[Illustration: PLATE B.--CHINESE MARKS--_continued_.] - -[Illustration: JAPANESE MARKS] - -[Illustration: PLATE C.--GERMAN MARKS] - -[Illustration: DUTCH, DANISH, SWEDISH, AND RUSSIAN MARKS] - -[Illustration: PLATE D.--BELGIAN AND SWISS MARKS] - -[Illustration: FRENCH MARKS] - -[Illustration: ITALIAN AND SPANISH MARKS] - -[Illustration: PLATE E.--ENGLISH MARKS] - - - - -INDEX - - -‘Aging’ of clay, 19-20 - -Alcora, attempts to make porcelain at, 324 - -‘Alumina’ Company at Copenhagen, 388 - -Alumina, proportion of, in hard pastes, 7, 385 - -Amiot, Père, sends china from Pekin, 52 _note_, 298 _note_ - -Amoy, export of porcelain from, 127, 142 - ----- stoneware made near, 166 - -Annam, porcelain made in, 175 - -Arab trade with China, 209 - ----- traders, Chinese porcelain distributed by, 210 _seq._ - ----- writers on Chinese porcelain, 60, 209-217 - -_Arabian Nights_, Martabani ware mentioned, 216 - -Arabic inscriptions on Chinese porcelain, 94 - -Aranjuez, porcelain _gabineto_ at, 323 - -Arita, porcelain district of Japan, 181-182, 193 - -Armorial china, 164, 253, 369 - ----- ---- decorated at Canton, 114, 164 - -Arras, porcelain made at, 289 - -Arrow-holders in Chinese porcelain, 139 - -Assyrian and Babylonian glazes, 33 - -Augustus the Strong, collects Chinese porcelain, 159 - ----- ---- his collection of porcelain, 227 - ----- ---- porcelain in exchange for dragoons, 228 - ----- ---- his taste as a collector, 244-245 - -Augustus the Strong, his ambition to imitate Oriental porcelain, 245 - - -Bachelier, art inspector at Sèvres, 291 - ----- his memoir on the Sèvres works, 290 - ----- quoted, 294, 295, 296, 301 - -Bacon, John, modeller at Bow, 348 - -Barbin at Mennecy, 287 - -_Barbotine_, or slip, 19, 312 - -Batavian porcelain, 102 - ----- ---- term how used, 223 - -Baxter, family of enamellers, 362-363, 369 - -Belleek porcelain, 374 - -Bemrose, Mr., on Derby porcelain, 350 - -Berlin, Meissen staff removed to, 262 - ----- Wegeli’s earlier porcelain, 262 - ----- contemporary porcelain, 389, 391 - ----- porcelain and Frederick the Great, 262 - ----- ---- methods of sale, 263 - ----- ---- marks on, 264 - -Bertin, the French minister, his Chinese porcelain, 52 _note_, 298 _note_ - -Billingsley, W., 366, 367-368, 371 - -Bing and Gröndhal factory at Copenhagen, 388, 393 - -Binns, Mr., documents relating to English porcelain, 357, 358 - -Biscuit oven, 27 - -Bismuth used in glaze, 374, 388, 390 - -Black glazes on Chinese porcelain, 149 - -Bloor, Robert, at Derby, 356 - -‘Blue and white,’ origin of Chinese, 75, 156 - ----- ---- of Ming period, 81-85, 157 - ----- ---- how distinguished, 83 - ----- ---- of Wan-li period, 95, 157 - ----- ---- Chinese name for, 155 - ----- ---- Chinese porcelain, 155-160 - ----- ---- earliest Chinese, 156 - ----- ---- origin of Chinese, 156 - ----- ---- Chinese porcelain, with hatched lines, 160 - -Blue decoration _sous couverte_, 43 - ----- enamel, difficulty of successful application, 99 _note_ - ----- ---- used with _famille verte_, 101 - -Boccaro ware, made in China, 166 - ----- ---- imitated by Böttger, 247 - -Bohemia, Northern, contemporary porcelain, 392 - -Bondy, Rue de, Paris, factory at, 313 - -Bone, Henry, employed at Bristol, 381 - ----- ---- paints on slabs of porcelain, 381 - -Bone-ash in English porcelain, 329, 330, 338, 343, 372-373 - -Borneo, Chinese porcelain found in, 156, 209-210 - ----- Chinese trade with, 209 - -Böttger, his life, 246-248 - ----- as an alchemist, 246, 248 - ----- his porcelain at the Leipsic Fair, 247, 249 - ----- compared with other great potters, 250 - ----- assistance from Dutch potters, 250 _note_ - ----- the number of his experiments with enamels and glazes, 252 - -Böttger-ware, polished, 248 - ----- with enamel colours, 249 - ----- with brown glaze, 249 - -Boucher, his models used at Sèvres, 296 - -Bourbon, Duc de, and Chantilly, 286 - -Bow, fragments of porcelain found at, 343 - ----- nature of porcelain there made, 344-345 - ----- Craft’s punch-bowl, 345-346 - ----- marks on porcelain, 348 - ----- factory, origin of, 342 - ----- ---- bought by Duesbury, 352 - ----- porcelain, 342-348 - -Brameld, Thomas, and Rockingham porcelain, 372 - -Brancas Lauraguais, experiments with kaolin, 305, 313, 378, 379 - -Brinkley, Captain, on Japanese ceramics, 194 - ----- ---- quoted, 196 - -Bristol porcelain, 379-386 - ----- ---- marks on, 380 - ----- ---- colours on statuettes, 381-382 - ----- ---- medallions with floral wreaths, 382 - ----- ---- ‘cottage china,’ 382 - ----- ---- glaze on, 382 - ----- ---- hardness of paste, 384 - ----- ---- great infusibility, 384 - ----- ---- composition, 384 - ----- ---- plasticity of clay, 384 - -British Museum, Oriental porcelain in, 53 - -Brongniart, director at Sèvres, 303 - ----- sells stock of undecorated Sèvres soft paste, 304 - ----- introduces severe type of paste, 307 - ----- his influence at Sèvres, 308-309 - -Bronzes, early Chinese, influence of shapes on porcelain, 57 - -Brown glazes of Chinese, 74 _note_ - -Brühl, Count, armorial china for, 253 - -Brunswick, Duke of, and Fürstenberg porcelain, 265 - -Buen Retiro, Madrid, porcelain factory at, 322-324 - -Buonicelli, director at Buen Retiro, 323 - -Burke at Bristol, 383 - -Burleigh House, early Chinese porcelain formerly at, 85, 222 - -Bushell, Dr., work on Chinese porcelain, 15, 54, 91, 153 - ----- translations from Chinese works on Korea, 171 - ----- manuscript, 61 - ----- ---- quoted, 86, 138 - - -_Cailloux_ in French porcelain, 16 - -Canton, early Arab trade, 209 - ----- enamellers on porcelain, 108, 114, 164, 165 - -Capo di Monte, Naples, porcelain factory at, 318-320 - -Capo di Monte factory removed to Portici, 320 - -Carlos, Don, at Naples, makes porcelain, 319 - ----- ---- now Charles III. of Spain, carries his workmen to Buen Retiro, 319 - -_Cassettes._ _See_ Seggars. - -Casting, process described, 25, 354 - ----- used for Derby statuettes, 354 - -Catherine II., her Sèvres dinner-service, 298 - -Caughley porcelain, 365 - -Celadon glazes, 42 - ----- word used in restricted sense, 64 - ----- of Sung dynasty, 63-65, 132, 144 - ----- origin of term, 64 _note_ - ----- early examples in European collections, 71 - ----- later Chinese ware, 145 - ----- made in Siam, 173, 212 _note_ - ----- Japanese, 192, 195, 197 - ----- old pieces in Japan, 178, 201 - ----- (martabani) in Persia, 215 - ----- earliest specimen at Oxford, 218 - -Censors, influence of, on Chinese arts, 74 - -Ch’ai yao, early Chinese ware, 62 - -_Chambrelans_ or chamberers, term explained, 303 - -Champion, R., 375, 377, 379, 382-383 - -Chang, the elder and younger brothers, 65 - -_Cha-no-yu_, Japanese tea ceremony, 178 - -Chantilly, porcelain made at, 285-287 - ----- sprig pattern, 286 - ----- marks on porcelain, 287 - -Chao Ju-kua, his report on early Chinese trade, 210 - -Chardin on porcelain in Persia, 215 - -Charlottenburg factory, 389, 391 - -Chelsea-Derby porcelain, 341, 352-355 - ----- ---- marks on, 352 - ----- ---- new forms introduced, 352-353 - ----- ---- statuettes made by ‘casting,’ 354 - -Chelsea factory, site of, 335 - ----- ---- end of, 341 - ----- porcelain, 331-342 - -Chelsea porcelain, an early ware, 332 - ----- ---- marks on earliest pieces, 332 - ----- ---- Japanese wares imitated, 336 - ----- ---- sales of, 337, 341 - ----- ---- claret colour on, 338, 340 - ----- ---- use of gold on, 338 - ----- ---- rococo forms, 339 - ----- ---- turquoise on, 339 - ----- ---- statuettes, 340 - ----- ---- models of birds and fruit, 340 - ----- ---- marks on, 342 - -Cheng-hua (1464-87), use of date-mark, 82 - ----- enamelled ware, 86 - ----- porcelain of, 93 - -Cheng-tai enamels on copper, 88, 93 - -Cheng-te (1505-21), porcelain of, 94 - -Cheng-tung (1435-49), double date-mark, 93 - -Cheyne Row called China Row, 333 - -‘Chicken cups’ of Cheng-hua, 93 - -Chicoineau family, 240, 282, 284, 288 - -_Chimie_, in French soft pastes, 280 - -China collecting, ridicule attached to, 61, 243 - ----- origin of English term, 222 - ----- clay. _See_ Kaolin. - ----- stone (_see also_ Petuntse), 9, 10 - ----- ---- preparation of, 16 - -Chinese characters, varieties of, 117-118 - ----- porcelain exported to different countries, 50 - ----- ---- influence of old traditions, 51 - ----- ---- mistakes in early classification, 52 - ----- ---- late origin compared to other arts, 56 - ----- ---- survival of old types, 58 - ----- ---- classification of, 58, 141 - ----- ---- old native accounts of, 60 - ----- ---- composition of early wares, 69 - ----- ---- plain white ware, 141-144 - ----- ---- unglazed ware, 144 - ----- stonewares, 165-167 - ----- trade with the West, 209 _seq._ - -Ching (blue), Julien’s wrong use of word, 64 _note_ - -Ching-tsu, Chinese term for celadon, 64 - -_Chini_, Persian word for china or porcelain, 49 _note_, 222 - -Christian subjects on Chinese and Japanese porcelain, 133, 182 - -Chromium, as a source of green, 304, 309 - -Chün yao, early Chinese ware, 65, 152 - ----- ---- numbers engraved on, 66 - -Church Gresley porcelain, 371 - -Church, Prof., on composition of porcelain, 5, 69, 241, 338, 343, 370, 384 - -Ciron, Ciquaire, at Chantilly, 285 - -‘_Clair-de-lune_’ glaze (yueh-pai), 105, 148 - -Clignancourt, Paris, factory at, 313 - -Cloisonné enamels on Japanese porcelain, 203 - -Coalport or Coalbrookdale porcelain, 366 - -Cobalt blue, sources of that used by Chinese, 40, 75 _note_, 92 - ----- ---- how prepared by Chinese, 130 - ----- ---- grounds of Chinese, 148 - -Coloured pastes, 40, 311 - -Colours used in decoration of porcelain (_see also_ Enamels), 39 - ----- resistance to fire, 41 - -Condé, house of, and Chantilly, 285-287 - -Constantin, painter on porcelain, 271 - -Contemporary porcelain, 387-394 - ----- ---- use of new colours and glazes, 389-390 - -Cookworthy, William, 375-380 - ----- ---- search for china-clay, 376-377 - -Copenhagen, porcelain made at, 274 - ----- contemporary work, 388, 393 - ----- Japanese influence, 388 - -Copper-red under glaze, 80, 130 - ----- ---- examples in British Museum, 81 - ----- ---- of Hsuan-te, 92 - -Copper-red glazes on Chinese porcelain, 150-154 - -Coral-red grounds on Chinese porcelain, 115 - -Cornflower or _barbeau_ on porcelain, 313, 355 - -Cornwall, search for materials for porcelain, 359, 376-378 - -Cottage china made at Bristol, 382 - -Courtille, La, Paris, factory at, 313 - -_Couverte_, French term for glaze, 31 - -Cozzi, makes porcelain at Venice, 317 - -Crackle ware, old Chinese (Ko yao), 65 - ----- ---- Chinese, varieties of, 45 - ----- ---- glazes of, 145 - ----- ---- equivalent to Ko yao, 145 - ----- ---- Korean, 171 - -Craft, Thomas, his punch-bowl, 345-346 - -‘Crazing’ of glazes, 32 - -‘Crow-claws,’ term explained, 29 - ----- marks of, on Japanese porcelain, 191 - -‘Crusader’s Cup’ at Dresden, 77, 152, 217 - - -Danish porcelain, 273, 388, 393 - -Darwin, Dr., letter to Wedgwood, 378 - -Date-marks on Chinese porcelain, 82 - ----- ---- method of reckoning, 91 _note_ - ----- ---- cyclical, 110 _note_ - ----- ---- two systems, 118 - ----- ---- how written, 118 - ----- ---- earliest example, 119 - ----- ---- those of Kang-he rare, 119 - ----- ---- on Sèvres porcelain, 302 - -Dauphin, collector of Oriental porcelain, 230 - -Decoration of porcelain, Tang-ying’s principles, 112 - -_Dégourdi, Feu_, term explained, 26 - -Delft ware, early imitations of Chinese porcelain in, 224 - ----- ---- competition with Chinese porcelain, 234 - ----- ---- in England, 240 - -_Demi grand feu_, term explained, 59 - ----- ---- glazes of, 98 - ----- ---- ware of, 79, 106 - -Derby biscuit, or bisque, 353-354 - ----- porcelain, 350-357 - ----- ---- little known of early period, 351 - ----- ---- sold in London, 351 - ----- ---- degenerate patterns, 355 - ----- ---- ‘old Japan’ copied, 355 - ----- ---- marks on, 356 - -Dietrich, ‘professor of painting’ at Meissen, 256 - -Dillwyn, L. W., at Swansea, 367-368 - -Doccia, near Florence, porcelain factory at, 320-322 - ----- Chinese white ware and Capo di Monte porcelain imitated, 321 - ----- contemporary work, 394 - -Dresden, Chinese porcelain at, 161 - ----- Ethnographical Museum, Chinese porcelain from various lands, 211 - ----- Oriental porcelain presented by Grand Duke of Tuscany, 228 - ----- collection of porcelain, 227, 245 - ----- approximate date of bulk of specimens, 228 - ----- porcelain. _See_ Meissen porcelain. - -Duesbury, William, 341, 342, 349, 350-352, 356 - ----- and Longton Hall, 349 - -Duesbury’s work-book, quotations from, 350-351 - -Duplessis, the king’s goldsmith, at Sèvres, 291, 296 - -Dutch dealers supply Augustus of Saxony with porcelain, 228 - ----- painters, Chinese porcelain in their pictures, 159 - ----- trade with China, 220 - ----- ---- with Japan, 183-184 - -Dwight, Dr., attempts to make porcelain at Fulham, 240-241 - ----- ---- nature of the paste made by him, 241 - ----- Lydia, stoneware figure of, 242 - - -Earthenware, term used to include porcelain, 334 _note_ - -Egg-shell porcelain, 107 - -Egypt, Chinese porcelain found in, 158, 211, 212, 215, 216 - -Egyptian fayence and glazes, 33 - -_Eisen-porzellan_ of Böttger, 248 - -Empress-Dowager of China a connoisseur of porcelain, 115-116 - -Enamel colours on Meissen porcelain, 251-252 - -Enamelled fayence compared with porcelain, 73 - ----- porcelain, Saracenic origin of, 87, 88 - -Enamelled porcelain of Ming dynasty, 86-91, 161 - ----- ---- three classes, 90 - -Enamels, always superimposed on glaze, 31 - ----- relation to subjacent glaze, 45 - ----- on European porcelain, 45 - ----- on Chinese porcelain, 45-48 - ----- on Japanese porcelain, 192 - ----- firing of, 46 - ----- new sources of colour, 48 - ----- ---- at Sèvres, 309 - ----- on copper, influence on porcelain enamels, 88 - -_Encastage_, term explained, 28 - -England, how Chinese porcelain first reached, 219, 221, 223 - ----- early attempts to make porcelain in, 240-242 - -English porcelain, rival influence of Sèvres and Dresden, 328 - ----- ---- copies Oriental and Continental models, 328 - ----- ---- three types of soft-paste, 330 - ----- ---- royal patronage, 329, 335, 356 - ----- ---- divided into five periods, 331 - ----- ---- contemporary work, 390-391 - ----- trade with East, 221 - -_Engobe._ _See_ Slip. - -D’Entrecolles, Père, his letters, how written, 126 - ----- ---- reception of letters in Europe, 126 - ----- ---- summary of letters, 127-136 - -European enamelling on white Chinese porcelain, 165 - ----- influence on Chinese porcelain, 109, 135, 159, 162 - ----- market, Chinese porcelain for, 163-164 - ----- porcelain, early attempts at manufacture, 235-243 - - -_Façonnage_, or shaping, 20 - -Falconet, his models used at Sèvres, 296 - -_Famille rose_, 106-110 - ----- ---- European influence on painting, 109 - -_Famille verte_, 98-102 - ----- ---- with black ground, 100 - ----- ---- relation to Ming enamels, 100 - -Favorite, La, near Baden, porcelain cabinet, 227 - -Fawkner, Sir Everard, and Chelsea porcelain, 335-337 - -Fayence, enamelled, competition with porcelain in seventeenth century, 233 - ----- ---- practical disadvantages of, 234 - -Felspar, 9, 10 - ----- decomposition of, 10 - ----- how far equivalent to china-stone, 16 _note_, 251 - ----- pure, used in Danish and Swedish porcelain, 388, 393 - -Feng Ting ware, white Chinese porcelain, 68, 142 - -Firing of porcelain, chemical reaction, 11 - ----- ---- systems described, 26, 191 - ----- ---- at King-te-chen, 133 - -Fischer, Herr, at Herend, 271, 392 - -_Flambé_ glazes, 42 - ----- ---- on Chinese porcelain, 152 - ----- ---- firing of, 152, 153 - ----- ---- how painted on, 153 - ----- ware, early type, 66 - -Florence, porcelain made in sixteenth century. _See_ Medici. - -Flour-spar used in glaze at Fürstenberg, 265 - -Flowers in porcelain at Meissen, 254, 293 _note_ - ----- ---- at Vincennes, 293 - -_Fond laque_ on Chinese porcelain, 102 - ----- ---- much found in Persia, 147 - -Forms of Chinese porcelain, 137-141 - ----- of Japanese porcelain, 192 - -Fostât rubbish-heaps, fragment of Chinese porcelain found in, 216 - -_Fouliang, Annals of_, 127 - -France, early collectors of Oriental porcelain in, 229-231 - -Francesco, Grand Duke of Tuscany, makes porcelain, 237 - -Frankenthal, porcelain made at, 267 - -Franks, Sir A. W., on Oriental china, 53, 121, 185 - ----- ---- on Strassburg porcelain, 270 - ----- ---- on Parisian kilns, 314 - ----- ---- on Lowestoft porcelain, 370 - -Frederick the Great and porcelain, 255, 262, 274, 275, 335 - -Frits, used in French soft pastes, 279 - -Frye, Thomas, at Bow, 342-343 - -Fuel used in firing porcelain, 28 - -Fukien, Chinese province, two wares made, 66, 142 - ----- white porcelain, 142-143 - ----- ---- imitated in Europe, 142 - ----- ---- decorated in England, 144 - ----- enamelled porcelain, 143 - -Fulda, porcelain made at, 268 - -Fulham, Dr. Dwight attempts to make porcelain at, 240 - -Furnaces for firing porcelain, three types described, 27 - ----- for Chinese porcelain, 134 - ----- for Japanese porcelain, 191 - ----- for French soft pastes, 280 - -Fürstenberg, porcelain made at, 265 - -Fusibility of porcelain, experiments at Sèvres, 8, 18 - - -Gardner, at Tver, makes porcelain, 275 - -Garnier, Édouard, late director at Sèvres, 310 - ----- ---- report on contemporary porcelain, 389-394 - -_Garniture_, term explained, 23 - ----- _de cheminée_ in Chinese porcelain, 139 - -Geneva, porcelain painters at, 271, 311 - -Gersaint, his catalogue of Oriental porcelain, 230 - -Ginori family at Doccia, 320-321 - -Glass, possible influence on early Chinese glazes, 57 - ----- made by Hu imitated in porcelain, 113 - -Glazes, 12, 30-38 - ----- preparation of, 30 - ----- applied to unbaked ware by Chinese, 30 - -Glazes, called oil by Chinese, 31 - ----- distinguished from enamels, 31 - ----- fusibility of, 32 - ----- on Egyptian fayence, 32 - ----- composition of ancient, 33, 144-154 - ----- three main classes of, 34 - ----- on Chinese porcelain, 35 - ----- relation to subjacent paste, 35 - ----- containing lime, 35-36 - ----- at Sèvres of two types, 36 - ----- on European porcelain, composition of, 36 - ----- on Chinese porcelain, composition of, 37 - ----- when first used by Chinese, 69 - ----- sole source of decoration on early Chinese porcelain, 70 - ----- for French soft pastes, 281 - ----- for hard pastes at Sèvres and Limoges, 306 - -‘Glozing’ or glazing oven, 27 - -Gold as source of red colour (see also _Rouge d’or_), 89 - -Gotzkowski, Berlin banker, 262 - -Gotha, Museum at, early Chinese porcelain, 72, 174, 212 - ----- porcelain made at, 269 - -Gouyn, Charles, manager at Chelsea, 333 - -Granite, primary source of both kaolin and petuntse, 9 - -Granitic rocks, varieties of, 9 - -Granja, La, porcelain _gabineto_ at, 323 - -Gravant, potter at Sèvres, 290, 294 - -Graviata bowls, 115 - -Green and blue enamels not successfully united by Chinese, 98 _note_ - ----- ---- on two vases of Ming porcelain in British Museum, 99 _note_ - ----- glazes on Chinese porcelain, 149 - ----- of _famille verte_, how applied, 99-100 - -Grieninger, manager at Berlin, 263 - -Growan-stone and clay, 377 - - -Hague, porcelain made at, 273, 389, 393 - -Hampton Court, Oriental porcelain at, 185, 225-226 - -Hampton Court, no specimens of _famille rose_ or of ‘Old Japan,’ 225 - ----- ---- age of porcelain represented at, 226 - ----- ---- Queen Mary’s china cabinet, 226 - -Hancock, Robert, working at Battersea, 347 - ----- ---- and transfer-printing, 360 - -Handles, fixing of, 23 - -Hannong family, Strassburg potters, 268, 269, 305, 313, 318 - -Hardness of porcelain, 5, 18 - -Haslem, J., on casting process at Derby, 26, 354 - -Hat-stands in Chinese porcelain, 139 - -Haviland factory at Limoges, 389, 390 - -Hellot, chemical adviser at Sèvres, 291, 300 - ----- his memoir quoted, 278-280, 294, 299 - -Herculaneum works at Liverpool, 371 - -Herend, in Hungary, porcelain factory at, 271, 392 - -Herold or Höroldt at Meissen, 253 - -Hippisley, translations from Chinese, 91 _note_ - -Hirado or Mikôchi ware, 193-195 - -Hirth, Dr., on early Chinese trade, etc., 54, 210-213 - ----- ---- collection of early Chinese porcelain, 72 - -Höchst, porcelain made at, 264 - -Holdship, Richard, 358 - -Holland, Chinese ‘blue and white’ early imported, 158 - ----- Chinese porcelain in, 229 - ----- porcelain made in, 272-274, 389, 393 - -Hookah-bases of Chinese porcelain, 140 - -Hsuan-te (1425-35), porcelain of, 92 - ----- blue and white of, 83 - -_Hua-shi_, a stone used in Chinese porcelain, 131, 376 - -Hungary, porcelain made in, 271, 392 - -Hung-chi (1487-1505), porcelain of, 93, 147 - -Hunger, at Vienna, 260 - -Hunger, at Venice, 317 - -Hybrid pastes of Italy, 316 - - -Imari porcelain, 186-193 - ----- ---- elements of decoration, 187 - ----- ---- relation to early Chinese enamelled wares, 187-188 - ----- ---- relation to other Japanese wares, 188 - ----- ---- copied at King-te-chen, 188 _note_ - ----- ---- composition of paste, 190 - ----- ---- source and nature of materials, 190 - ----- ---- in Dresden collection, 229 - -Incense, vessels used in burning, of Chinese porcelain, 138 - -India, Chinese porcelain found in, 85, 158 - ----- porcelain enamelled at Canton for, 165 - -_Insufflation_ of glaze by Chinese, 30 - -Iron-red in fine lines to imitate the _rouge-d’or_, examples at Dresden, 162 - - -Jade, highly esteemed in China, 57 - ----- influence on early Chinese glazes, 57 - -Japan, early pottery of, 177, 179 - ----- Korean potters in, 179 - ----- porcelain of, 177-207 - -Japanese experts on Chinese porcelain, 55 - ----- porcelain, how introduced from China, 180-181 - ----- ---- early export of ‘blue and white,’ 182 - ----- ---- exported by Dutch, 183-184 - ----- ---- sources of information, 183 _note_, 193 _note_ - ----- ---- export stimulated by troubles in China, 184 - ----- ---- princely patronage of, 189, 194 - ----- ---- founded on Ming types, 189, 197, 199 - ----- ---- composition of paste, 190 - -Japanese porcelain, preliminary firing, 191 - ----- ---- glazes how prepared, 191 - ----- ---- furnaces, 191 - ----- ---- marks of crows-feet, 191 - ----- ---- shapes and uses, 192 - ----- ---- colours employed, 192 - ----- ---- celadon, 192, 195, 197, 201 - ----- ---- stories of processes discovered by spies, 196, 202, 203 - ----- ---- influence of conservative criticism on, 206 - ----- trade with China, 178 - -Julien, Stanislas, translations from Chinese, 53 - -Ju yao, early Chinese ware, 62 - - -Kaga or Kutani ware, 203-206 - -Kai-feng Fu, old Sung capital, 62, 63, 65 - -Kakiyemon, a potter of Hizen, 183 - ----- ware, 185 - ----- ---- blue enamel over glaze, 186 - ----- ---- imitated at Meissen, 253 - ----- ---- imitated at Chantilly, 286 - -Kändler at Meissen, 253 - ----- chief modeller of ‘Dresden figures,’ 253 - -Kang-he (1661-1722), porcelain of, 96 - ----- his date-mark, why rare, 119 - -Kaolin, 8, 10 - ----- preparation of, 16 - ----- proportion of, in hard pastes, 17, 385 - ----- search for in France, 305-306 - ----- found at Alençon and St. Yrieix, 305-306, 378 - ----- found in Cornwall, 376-378 - -Kaolinic stoneware, use of term, 69 - -Karl Theodor, Elector Palatine, 260, 267 - -Kenzan, potter at Kioto, 197 - -Khanfu, Arab name for Hangchow, 209 - -Kia-king (1795-1820), porcelain of, 114, 155 - -Kia-tsing (1521-66), porcelain of, 94 - -Kien-lung (1735-1795), porcelain of, 105-114 - ----- his poems inscribed on porcelain, 113 - -Kien-lung, Sèvres porcelain for, 298 - -Kien yao, old Chinese ware, 66, 180 - ----- ---- example in British Museum, 71 - ----- ---- white porcelain, 142, 143 - -Kilns for firing porcelain. _See_ Furnaces. - -King-te-chen in early days, 62 - ----- oppression of court officials, 94 - ----- in Kang-he’s reign, 96 - ----- lists of porcelain made, 95, 104, 115 - ----- burned, 115, 125, 220 - ----- position, 123-125 - ----- Pekin, how reached from, 123 - ----- Canton, how reached from, 124 - ----- relation to Jao-chau and Fouliang, 124-125 - ----- description of town, 125, 127 - ----- materials brought down in junks, 128 - ----- foreign designs copied at, 165 - ----- works abandoned for long period in seventeenth century, 220 - -Kinsay or Hangchow, 62, 63, 209 - -Kioto, porcelain made at, 196-199 - ----- potters copied Ming enamelled wares, 198 - ----- wares, _récherché_ rudeness of, 197 - -Kishiu ware or _Ô-niwa yaki_, 199 - ----- ---- imitated for export at Tokiyo and Kobe, 200 - -Kiyomidzu, suburb of Kioto, porcelain made at, 197, 198 - -Kizayemon family, court purveyors of porcelain, 188 - -Kochi, meaning of Japanese term, 175 - ----- ware of Japanese, 201 - -Kok, Juriann, his new porcelain at the Hague, 389, 393 - -_Koransha_, combination of Japanese potters, 193 - -Korea, relations with China and Japan, 168 - ----- fanciful attribution of various wares to, 169, 186 - -Korean porcelain, classification of, 170 - ----- ---- celadon, 170 - ----- ---- plain white, 170 - ----- ---- crackle ware, 171 - -Korean porcelain described in early Chinese books, 171 - ----- inlaid with white slip, 171 - ----- potters in Japan, 169 - -Koreans, early use of enamel colours by, 169 - -Kousnetzoff factory, Moscow, 392 - -Ko yao, early Chinese ware, 63, 65, 145 - -‘Kronenburg porcelain,’ origin of name, 267 - -Kuang-tung porcelain of Raynal, 166 - -Kuang yao, stoneware, 166 - ----- ---- early Chinese ware, 63 - -Kublai Khan, 72, 213 - -Kutani or Kaga ware, 203-206 - ----- ware, relation to Imari porcelain, 204 - ----- ---- marks on, 205 - -Kwan-yin, statues of, 135, 143, 226 - - -Lace imitated in porcelain at Berlin, 264 - -Lang Ting-tso, superintendent at King-te-chen, 96 _note_, 103, 151 - -Lang yao, origin of name, 103 - -Langen, von, at Fürstenberg, 265 - ----- ---- at Copenhagen, 274 - -_Laque Burgauté_, 114 - -Lathe, use of, in shaping porcelain, 22 - -Lead in glaze, 33-34 - -Leithner, chemist at Vienna, 261 - -Lemon-yellow, opaque glaze on Chinese porcelain, 111-115 - -Lille, porcelain made at, 284 - ----- coal early used in porcelain kilns, 285 - -Lime in paste or glaze of porcelain, 35-36, 251 - -Limoges district, porcelain works in, 15, 314-315, 389-390 - ----- enamel copied in Chinese porcelain, 135 _note_ - -Lister, Dr. Martin, at Saint-Cloud, 282, 326 - -Lists of porcelain made for Chinese court, 95, 115 - -Lithophanic porcelain, at Berlin, 264 - -Littler at Longton Hall, 348 - -Liverpool porcelain, 370-371 - -London, West of England porcelain painted in, 363, 366, 369 - -Longton Hall porcelain, 348-349 - -Lowestoft and Oriental armorial porcelain, 369-370 - ----- china, so-called, 165, 369 - ----- porcelain, 369-370 - -Ludwigsburg, porcelain made at, 266 - -Lung-chuan celadon, reproduced at King-te-chen, 132 - ----- yao, early Chinese ware, 63 - -Lung-king (1566-72), porcelain of, 95 - -Lustre ware, attempted imitation by Chinese, 74 _note_ - -Lyle, Mr., on old Siamese porcelain, 173 - - -Macaulay on china collectors, 61 _note_ - -Madeley, Sèvres porcelain copied by Randall at, 366 - -Magnesia, an element of porcelain paste, 12, 131 - ----- in paste of Vinovo porcelain, 318 - ----- in paste of Spanish porcelain, 324 - -Magnets, removal of iron from slip by, 19 - -_Magots_, decorated in _famille verte_ style, 100 - -Mainwaring, Mr. Massey, his collection of Dresden figures, 254 _note_ - -Mainz, elector of, and Höchst porcelain, 264 - -Manchu or Tsing dynasty, 96 - -Mandarin china, 114 - -Manganese-purple glazes on Chinese porcelain, 98, 147 - ----- ---- in the San-tsai enamels, 99 - -Marcolini, Count, director at Meissen, 256 - -Marieberg, porcelain made at, 273 - -Marks on Chinese porcelain, 117-122 - ----- ---- how and where applied, 117, 119 - ----- ---- give little information, 119, 122 - ----- ---- _Tang_ or hall, _Chai_ or studio, 120 - ----- ---- allusive, descriptive, emblems and devices, 120-121 - ----- ---- ‘canting’ devices, 121 - -Marks on European porcelain. _See_ under the principal factories. - ----- on Japanese porcelain, 197, 199, 200, 205 - -_Marnes_, used in French soft pastes, 279 - -Martabani celadon, examples in European collections, 71 - ----- ware, 64-65, 210 _seq._, 144, 173, 215 - -Materials of porcelain, M. Vogt’s experiments, 17 - -Maubrée, flower-painter on porcelain, 271 - -Mazarin or powder-blue grounds of Chinese, 148 - -Medici, Lorenzo de’, receives present of Chinese porcelain, 217 - ----- porcelain, 236-238 - ----- ---- only identified lately, 236 - ----- ---- Vasari’s account, 236 - ----- ---- decoration of, 237 - ----- ---- composition of, 237 - ----- ---- marks, 238 - -Medicine-flasks (_yao-ping_) or snuff-bottles of Chinese - porcelain, 113-114, 140 - ----- ---- of Chinese porcelain, used by Arabs, found in Egyptian tombs, 140 - -Meissen porcelain, 244-258 - ----- ---- composition, 7, 250-251 - ----- ---- first successfully made (1713-1716), 249 - ----- ---- composition of glaze, 251 - ----- ---- hardness of paste, and difficulties in application of enamels, 251 - ----- ---- early pieces mostly defective, 252 - ----- ---- ‘Dresden figure groups,’ 253 - ----- ---- imitation of Chinese _magots_, 253 - ----- ---- armorial designs, 253 - ----- ---- flowers imitated, 254 - ----- ---- attempts to make large figures, 254 - ----- ---- effects of Seven Years’ War, 255 - ----- ---- important position of enamel painters, 255 - -Meissen porcelain, early exported to Turkey, 255 _note_ - ----- ---- marks on, 257 - ----- ---- recent work, 257, 392 - ----- ---- marks on, copied, 258 - ----- ---- smuggled into England, 334 - -Melchior at Höchst, 265 - ----- at Frankenthal, 268 - -Mennecy, porcelain made at, 287-288 - -Mica, an element in Chinese porcelain, 11, 131, 376 _note_ - -Mikôchi or Hirado ware, 193-195 - -Ming dynasty, porcelain of, 78-95 - ----- porcelain, colour decoration, 79, 86-91, 161 - ----- ---- ‘blue and white,’ 81-85, 95, 157 - -Minton, Thomas, 366, 373 - -Mirror black glaze on Chinese porcelain, 130, 149 - -Mohammedan forms of Chinese porcelain, 140 - -_Mo-hung_, iron-red painted over glaze, 150 - -Mokubei, potter at Kioto, 201 - -Moore, Bernard, imitates Chinese glazes, 387 - -Morikaga, painted on Kaga ware, 204 - -Moulding, antiquity of process, 23-25 - ----- process described, 23-25, 128 - ----- largely used for Chinese porcelain, 112 - -Muffle-stoves for firing enamels, 47, 281 - - -Nabeshima or Okôchi ware, 195 - -Nantgarw porcelain, 367-368 - -Napoleon’s ideas for decoration of porcelain, 308 - -Niderwiller, porcelain made at, 270 - -Nien-hao. _See_ Date-marks. - -Nien Hsi-yao, superintendent at King-te-chen, 104-105 - -Nien yao, 105 - -Nightingale, Mr., on sales of Chelsea porcelain, 335 _note_, 336 _note_ - -Ninsei, potter at Kioto, 196 - -Nove, Le, porcelain factory at, 318 - -Nymphenburg, porcelain made at, 267 - -Nyon, porcelain made at, 271 - - -Okeover plate in British Museum, 164 - -Okôchi or Nabeshima ware, 195 - -‘Old Japan.’ _See_ Imari. - -_Ô-niwa yaki_ or Kishiu ware, 199-200 - -Oriental porcelain, earliest specimens in Europe, 217-218 - -Orleans, Duke of, collector of Oriental porcelain, 230 - ----- ---- and Saint-Cloud, 283 - ----- family, interest in porcelain, 314 - ----- porcelain made at, 288 - -Ormolu mountings at Sèvres, 297 - ----- ---- on English porcelain, 339 - -Orry de Fulvi at Vincennes, 290 - -Oude Amstel, Dutch porcelain, 273 - ----- Loosdrecht, porcelain made at, 272 - -Ovens for firing porcelain. _See_ Furnaces. - -Owari porcelain, 201-203 - ----- ---- materials and composition, 190 - ----- ---- cheap ware for export, 203 - -Owen, Mr., on Bristol porcelain, 376, 381 _note_ - - -Painted glazes, term explained, 44, 59 - ----- ---- on Ming porcelain, 79 - ----- ---- of Hsuan-te, 92 - -Painters on Chinese porcelain, 108 - ----- ---- signatures of, 108 - ----- ---- division of work, 129 - ----- on Sèvres porcelain, signatures of, 303 - -Painting, schools of, in China, 82 - ----- on porcelain. _See also_ Enamelling. - -Palissy probably endeavoured to make porcelain, 239 _note_ - -Parian ware, 373 - -Paris, soft-paste factories at, 288 - ----- hard-paste factories at, 312-314 - -_Pâte-sur-pâte_, 41, 311 - -‘Peach-bloom’ glaze, 105, 154 - -Pen-rests in Chinese porcelain, 139 - -Persia, Chinese porcelain in, 147, 157, 215, 216 - -Persian fayence compared with Chinese porcelain, 73 - -Persian fayence, early use of blue under glaze, 74, 75 - ----- ---- Chinese influence on, 76 - ----- Gulf, early Chinese trade with, 213 - ----- ---- English trade with, 221 - ----- inscription on fifteenth century Chinese porcelain, 94 - -Petuntse (_see also_ China-stone), 8, 10 - ----- proportion of, in hard pastes, 385 - -Pierced decoration in Chinese porcelain, 154 - -Pillows in Chinese porcelain, 139 - -Pinxton porcelain, 371 - ----- Billingsley makes porcelain at, 368, 371 - -Pirkenhausen factory, Carlsbad, 392 - -Place, Dr., of York, experiments with various clays, 242 - -Planché, modeller at Derby, 351 - -Plymouth porcelain, 375-381 - ----- ---- composition of glaze, 380 - ----- ---- marks on, 380 - -Poems on Chinese porcelain, 113 - -Poison detected by Chinese porcelain, 215 - -Polo, Marco, account of China, 72 - ----- ---- on Chinese porcelain, 213-214 - -Pompadour, Marquise de, and Sèvres, 290, 292, 295, 300 - -Porcelain, physical properties of, 5 - ----- microscopical structure, 5 - ----- chemical composition, 6-12 - ----- materials, 14-18 - ----- transition to kaolinic stoneware in Japanese porcelain, 206 - ----- vague early use of the word, 217 - ----- early reports in Europe as to its composition, 223 - -‘Porcelain fever’ at time of Seven Years’ War, 255 - -Porcelain or purslane, word, how used in Elizabethan times, 222 - -Portugal, porcelain made in, 325 - -Portuguese in China, 219 - ----- as importers of porcelain, 222, 230 - -Poterat family of Rouen, 239, 282, 284 - -Potsherds of Chinese porcelain, ground up for paste - of English porcelain, 326 _note_ - -Potter’s wheel, 20-22 - ----- ---- early forms, 20-21 - -_Pourcelainnes_, the word, how used by Marco Polo, 214 - -Pressing, process described, 23 - - -Quan-yin, or Kwan-yin (Jap. Kwannon), 135, 143, 226 - - -Randall copies Sèvres porcelain, 366 - -Raynal, Abbé, on Chinese porcelain, 85 - ----- ---- quoted, 166, 231 - ----- ---- on classification of Oriental porcelain, 223 _note_ - -Réaumur makes porcelain, 278 - -Red decoration _sous couverte_, 43 - -Red Sea ports, early Chinese trade with, 213 - -Reine, porcelaine de la, made in Rue Thiroux, 313 - -Reproductions of old types of Chinese porcelain, 104, 115 - -Riaño, Don Juan, on Spanish porcelain, 322, 325 - -Rice-grain, in pierced decoration, 155 - -Ringler, the arcanist, 264, 266, 267 - -Risampei, a Korean, at Arita, 181 - -Ritual vessels in Chinese porcelain, colours of, 138 - -Rockingham porcelain, 371-372 - -Rörstrand, porcelain made at, 273 - ----- ---- contemporary work, 388, 393 - -Rose, John, 365, 366 - -Rose-red grounds (opaque), _mei-kwei_, on Chinese porcelain, 110 - -Roses on English porcelain, 352, 368 - -Rouen porcelain, 238-239, 282 - ----- ---- examples where found, 239 - -_Rouge d’or_ on Chinese porcelain, 107 - ----- ---- date of introduction in China, 110 _note_ - ----- ---- not mentioned by D’Entrecolles, 136 - ----- ---- late introduction in Japan, 189, 205 - ----- ---- used early at Saint-Cloud, 283 - -_Rouge d’or_, source of, 284 _note_ - ----- ---- mentioned in De Frasnay’s poem, 284 _note_ - -Rozenburg works at the Hague, 389, 393 - -Russian porcelain, 274, 392 - - -Sacrifice of the potter Tung, 113 - -Saint-Cloud, porcelain made at, 282-284 - ----- seventeenth century designs on porcelain, 283 - -St. Petersburg, porcelain made at, 274, 392 - -Saladin’s present of Chinese porcelain, 215 - -Salting collection, early vase with _cloisons_, 80 - ----- ---- enamelled bowl with Cheng-te mark, 89, 161 - ----- ---- _famille verte_ with black ground, 101 - -Salvétat, notes to Julien’s work, 53 - -Samson, imitates old wares, 314 - -Sanda celadon, 201 - -_Sang de bœuf_ glazes, 42 - ----- ---- imitated in England, 387 - ----- ---- on Chinese porcelain, 151 - -San tsai or ‘three-colour’ glazes, 44 - ----- ---- the ‘three colours’ of Ming enamels, 89, 97 - ----- ---- relation to Kishiu ware, 98 - -Saracenic glass, enamels on, 88 - ----- ---- found in China, 88 _note_ - ----- motives and forms in Chinese porcelain, 76, 140 - ----- origin of enamelled porcelain, 87, 88 - -Sassanian influence on Far East, 70 _note_ - -Sawankalok, porcelain made at, 173, 212 _note_ - -Sceaux, porcelain made at, 288 - -_Schneeball-vasen_, 254 - -_Schnorrische Erde_ used by Böttger, 250 - -Seggars, preparation and arrangement in furnace, 28-29 - ----- arrangement in Chinese furnaces, 133 - ----- late introduction in Japan, 188 - -Sei-ji, Japanese term for celadon, 64 - -Sentoku, Japanese reading of Hsuan-te, 92 - -Seto, village in Owari, connection with Japanese porcelain, 180, 202 - -Seto-mono, Japanese equivalent to ‘china,’ 202 - -Sève for Sèvres, 290 _note_ - -‘Severe’ or kaolinic porcelain, 17-18, 385-386 - -Sèvres, experimental work at, 15 - ----- hard paste, two types, 17 - ----- the new porcelain, 18 - ----- the soft paste of, 289-304 - ----- porcelain works removed to, 292 - ----- edicts against competing works, 295 - ----- the factory a fashionable lounge, 295 - ----- date of the best work, 297 - ----- soft paste abandoned, 303 - ----- ---- repainted at later dates, 304 - ----- the hard paste of, 305-312 - ----- German workmen at, 305 - ----- Macquer succeeds Hellot, 305 - ----- early hard paste of mild type, 306 - ----- the new mild type of hard paste, 307, 390 - ----- proposed withdrawal of State support, 310, 311, 312 - ----- hard paste, analysis of, 386 - ----- contemporary porcelain, 389, 390 - ----- laboratory, chemical and technical researches - on Chinese porcelain, 47-48, 55 - ----- porcelain sold at Versailles, 292 - ----- ---- biscuit figures, 296 - ----- ---- royal dinner-services, 297-298 - ----- ---- colours of grounds on, 299 - ----- ---- turquoise enamel, how prepared, 299 - ----- ---- _Rose carnée_ or _Pompadour_, 300 - ----- ---- gilding on, 301 - ----- ---- date-marks on, 302 - ----- ---- jewelled decoration, 302 - ----- ---- artists’ marks on, 303 - ----- ---- felspathic glaze, 306 - ----- ---- glaze on early hard paste, 306 - ----- ---- big vases of, 307-308 - ----- ---- the Napoleonic decoration, 308 - ----- ---- changes in decoration illustrate history, 310 - ----- ---- coloured pastes, 311 - ----- ---- pictorial plaques, 271, 311 - ----- ---- later developments, 312, 390 - -‘Shaping,’ term explained, 20 - -_Sha-t’ai_ or ‘sand-bodied’ relation to _hua-shi_, 132 - ----- ---- used as slip, 154 - -Shonsui, first made porcelain in Japan, 181 - -Siamese porcelain, 172-175 - ----- ---- primitive methods of support in kilns, 174, 211 - ----- ---- Buddhist emblems, 175 - ----- ---- decorated at Canton, 175 - -Signatures of painters on _famille rose_ plates, 108 - -Silica, proportion of, in hard pastes, 7, 385 - -Silver plate replaced in France by porcelain, 285 - -Slip or _barbotine_, 19, 312 - ----- decoration of Chinese porcelain, 146, 147, 154 - -Slop-blending, 16 - -Snuff-bottles of Chinese porcelain, 113-114, 140 - -Soft pastes, how distinguished, 277 _note_ - ----- ---- of France, origin of, 277-279 - ----- ---- composition, 279 - -Solon, M., at Sèvres, 311 - -_Sometsuke_, Japanese term for ‘blue and white,’ 187 - -_Soufflé_ glazes on Chinese porcelain, 30, 150 - -_Sous couverte_ or under-glaze decoration, 43 - -Spain, porcelain made in, 322-324 - ----- Chinese porcelain early imported, 322 - -Spengler of Zurich at Derby, 354 - -Spode family of Stoke, 372-373 - ----- Josiah, abandons use of frit in porcelain, 373 - ----- ---- his felspar porcelain, 373 - ----- ware, 373-374 - -Sprimont, Nicholas, manager at Chelsea, 333, 338, 341 - ----- ---- his _Case of the Undertaker_, 334 - -Staffordshire porcelain, composition, 372 - -Steatite in Chinese porcelain, 131 - ----- used at Worcester, 359 - ----- used at Swansea, 368 - ----- relation to _Hua-she_, 376 _note_ - -Stoneware, relation of, to porcelain, 7, 386 - ----- composition, 7 - -Stonewares of Chinese, 165-167 - -Strassburg, porcelain made at, 269 - -Strawberry Hill, porcelain at, 266, 283, 321, 379 _note_ - -_Sui-ki_, Chinese term for crackle or _truité_ ware, 146 - -Sumatra, Chinese trade with, 210 - -Sung dynasty of China, 62 - ----- porcelain, 62-68 - ----- ---- copied in later times, 52, 104 - ----- ---- rarity in European collections, 71 - -Su-ni-po and Su-ma-li, cobalt blues of Arab origin, 92 - -Swansea porcelain, 367-369 - -Swedish porcelain, 273 - ----- ---- contemporary work, 388, 393 - -Swinton, Rockingham porcelain made at, 371 - -Swiss porcelain, 270 - - -Ta-mo (Jap. Daruma), 143 - -Tang dynasty of China, importance of, 56, 209 - -Tang-ying, superintendent at King-te-chen, 110 - ----- report on manufacture of porcelain, 111-113 - -Tao-kwang (1820-50), porcelain of, 115 - -Tea drinking, influence on ceramic wares, 179, 224, 243 - ----- ---- ridiculed in drinking-song, 243 - -Tek-kwa or Te-hua, 142 - -‘Throwing’ on wheel, 20-22 - -Thüringer Wald, porcelain made in, 269 - -Tin enamel used at Chantilly, 286, 294 - -Tin-glazed fayence, 73 - -Tin in glaze, 33-34 - -Ting yao, old Chinese ware, 67, 141 - -Tingui of Marco Polo, 213-214 - -Tokugawa period, decline of art in later times, 198, 205 - -Toshiro, Japanese potter, 180 - -To-t’ai, ‘bodiless’ porcelain, 91 - -Tournai, porcelain made at, 289 - -Toys made of Mennecy porcelain, 287 - ----- made of Chelsea porcelain, 337 - -Transfer-printing at Bow, 347 - ----- at Worcester, 360 - -‘Transmutation’ glazes on Chinese porcelain, 66, 150-154, 151 _note_ - -_Trembleuse_ saucers, 283, 294 - -Trenchard family, early pieces of Chinese porcelain in possession of, 219 - -Triads of colour--San-tsai, 89, 97 - -Trou, Henri, at Saint-Cloud, 283 - -Tsang Ying-hsuan, superintendent at King-te-chen, 96 - -Tschirnhaus, glass made by, 246-247, 278 - ----- his connection with Böttger, 246-247, 248 - -Tsing or Manchu dynasty, 96 - -Tung, the potter’s god, 113 - -Tung-chi (1861-74), porcelain of, 115 - -Tu Ting ware, term explained, 68 - -Turks use coffee-cups of Oriental porcelain, 224 - -Turner, Thomas, at Caughley, 365 - -Turquoise glaze on Chinese porcelain, 97, 147 - ----- grounds (opaque)--_fei-tsui_--on Chinese porcelain, 110-111 - ----- ---- on Sèvres porcelain, 299 - ----- ---- on Chelsea porcelain, 339 - -_Tu-ting_, 142 - -Tzu-ching, writer of Bushell MS., 61, 79, 86 - -_Tzu-kin_ (burnished gold), Chinese name for _fond laque_, 146 - - -Unaker, kaolin from America, 342, 376, 378 - -Uranium, black enamel from, 261 - -Uses of Chinese porcelain, 137-141 - ----- of Japanese porcelain, 192 - - -Venice, Chinese porcelain in St. Mark’s, 77 _note_ - ----- early attempts to make porcelain in, 235 - ----- Oriental porcelain abundant in seventeenth century, 235 _note_ - ----- porcelain made at, 316-318 - ----- German influence on porcelain, 317 - -Vernadsky, on chemical reaction in firing porcelain, 11 - -Vezzi family at Venice, 316 - -Vienna, origin of porcelain works, 260 - ----- porcelain, decoration, 260 - ----- ---- marks on, 260 - -Villeroy, Duc de, and Mennecy, 287 - -Vincennes, porcelain made at, 289-291, 293-295 - ----- _bleu du roi_, 294 - ----- early perfection of porcelain, 295 - -Vinovo, or Vineuf, porcelain factory at, 318 - -_Vissage_ or wreathing, 22, 106 _note_, 384 - -Vogt, M., of Sèvres, quoted, 17, 278 - - -Wall, Dr. John, at Worcester, 357, 363 - -Walpole, Horace, porcelain from Doccia, 321 - -Wan-li (1572-1619), his present of porcelain to Jehangir, 85 - ----- porcelain of, 95 - -Warham, Archbishop, celadon bowl at Oxford, 218 - -‘Wasters,’ importance of discovery of, 29 - -Watteau, influence on German art, 253 - -Wedgwood, his Jasper ware, 40 - ----- at Meissen, 256 - ----- and fugitive workmen, 381 _note_ - ----- his opposition to Champion, 383 - -Weesp, in Holland, porcelain made at, 272 - -White Chinese porcelain, two families of, 68 - -Willow pattern at Caughley, 365 - -Worcester porcelain, 357-364 - ----- ---- foundation of factory, 357 - ----- ---- composition of pastes, 358 - ----- ---- the factory described, 358 - ----- ---- Oriental wares copied, 359 - ----- ---- portraits of celebrities, 360, 364 - ----- ---- marks on, 360, 364 - ----- ---- transfer-printing, 360-361 - ----- ---- migration of painters from Chelsea, 361 - ----- ---- _bleu du roi_ grounds, 361-362 - ----- ---- decorated in London, 362-363 - ----- ---- the Chamberlain factory, 363 - ----- ---- late developments, 364 - -‘Wreathing’ or _vissage_, 22, 106 _note_, 384 - -_Wu-kung_, five vessels on Buddhist shrine, 138 - -_Wu-shê_ (_see_ Garniture), 139 - -Wu-tsai, the ‘five colours’ of Ming enamels, 89 - ----- relation to _famille verte_, 101 - - -_Yang-tsai_, ‘foreign colours,’ associated with Indian enamels, 165 - -_Yao-pien_, or furnace transmutation, 152 - -_Yao-ping_, or medicine-flasks, 113, 140 - -Yeiraku ware, 198-199 - -Yeisen, potter at Kioto, 197 - -Yellow glazes on Chinese porcelain, 94, 147 - -Yi-hsing yao, stoneware, 165 - -Yuan or Mongol dynasty, 72 - ----- ---- porcelain of, 77, 152 - -Yung-cheng (1722-35), porcelain of, 103-105 - ----- copies of old wares, 104 - ----- his early interest in porcelain, 135 - -Yung-lo (1402-24), early date-mark, 67 - ----- porcelain of, 68, 91 - - -Zaitun, 142, 209, 213 - -Zanzibar, Chinese porcelain found at, 211 - -Zengoro, family of Japanese potters, 198 - ----- his coral red, his Yeiraku seal, 198-199 - ----- his Kairaku ware in Kishiu, 200 - ----- Hozen at Kutani, 205 - -Zurich, porcelain made at, 270 - - -Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty at the Edinburgh -University Press - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [1] Some English porcelain is stated by Professor Church to have a - hardness equal to that of quartz. See below, ‘Bristol Porcelain.’ - - [2] We have thought it well, once for all, to treat briefly of the - scientific aspect of our subject, but those who are not interested in - this point of view may pass over the next few pages. - - [3] I shall return to this point in a later chapter. I lay the more - stress on this fact, as it is often stated that the hard and slightly - translucent stonewares, such as the Fulham ware of Dwight, which - contains as much as eighty per cent. of silica, form one degree of a - series of which true porcelain is the next term. The fact is, those - who sought to make porcelain by a refinement in the manufacture of - stoneware were as much astray as those who started from a fusible - glass frit. - - [4] The china-stone of Cornwall might, in part at least, be claimed - as an old volcanic rock, and that used in the Imari district of Japan - is distinctly of volcanic origin. Both these rocks, however, consist - essentially of a mixture of quartz and felspar. - - [5] For further details consult the authorities quoted in the - _Handbook_ of the Jermyn Street Collection, p. 5; for sections showing - the relation of the beds of kaolin to the surrounding rock, see - Brongniart’s _Traité des Arts Céramiques_, vol. i. - - [6] It is to the scattered notices and essays of Mr. William Burton - that we must go for information in this country. In his new work on - _English Porcelain_ he does not treat upon this side of the subject. - - [7] The most complete work on the processes of manufacture is now - Dubreuil’s _La Porcelaine_, Paris, 1885. It forms part forty-two in - Fremy’s _Encyclopédie Chimique_. This volume brings up to date and - replaces in some measure the great work of Alexandre Brongniart, the - _Traité des Arts Céramiques_ (two volumes, with a quarto volume of - plates), Paris, 1844. M. Georges Vogt in _La Porcelaine_, Paris, 1893, - gives valuable details of the processes employed at Sèvres. - - [8] The _cailloux_ of the French. This material is often described as - felspar, but I think that quartz can seldom be completely absent. - - [9] I should, however, be inclined to class not only much of the - porcelain of Japan, but some of that made in Germany and in south-west - France, rather in the ‘severe’ kaolinic than in the intermediary class - of M. Vogt. - - [10] We can, however, distinguish, in the tomb paintings of the Middle - Empire, an earlier form without the lower table. This earlier type, - moved by hand from the upper table, was that used by the Greeks at - least as late as the sixth century B.C., and a similar - primitive wheel is still used in India. On later Egyptian monuments of - Ptolemaic time, the potter is seen moving the wheel by pressing his - foot on a second lower table, as now at Sèvres and elsewhere. Both - forms of wheel appear to have been used by the Italian potters of the - Renaissance. - - [11] This seam is often visible on vases of old Chinese porcelain, and - may be taken as a sign that the object has been moulded. - - [12] Porcelain in China followed, as we shall see, in the wake of the - more early developed arts of the bronze-caster and the jade-carver. - Hence the prevalence in the early wares of shapes unsuitable to the - wheel. - - [13] I think that this is a more practical division than the one made - by M. Vogt and adopted by Dr. Bushell. - - [14] An important exception is to be noted in the case of the firing - of large vases in China. - - [15] A good instance of the first case is the finding of crow-claws in - the rubbish-heaps of Fostât or Old Cairo. As to the method of support - indicating the place of origin, see what is said below about the - celadon ware of Siam. - - [16] There is only one exception of any importance--the porcelain of - Chantilly, much of which has an opaque stanniferous glaze. - - [17] So we can infer from the magnificent wall decoration of the - Achæmenian period brought home from Susa by M. Dieulafoi. - - [18] A glaze of this nature was in the Saracenic East applied to a - layer of fine white slip, which itself formed a coating on the coarse - paste. Such a combination, often very difficult to distinguish from a - tin enamel, we find on the wall-tiles of Persia and Damascus. - - [19] Metallic gold has, of course, been applied to the decoration of - porcelain in all countries. - - [20] The colour of the ruby glass in our thirteenth century windows - has a very similar origin. In this case the art was lost and only in - a measure recovered at a later period. As in the case of the Chinese - glaze, the point was to seize the moment when the copper was first - reduced and, in a minute state of division, was suspended in floccular - masses in the glass. - - [21] With these colours a dark blue is sometimes associated. Is this - derived like the turquoise from copper? It is a curious fact that we - have here exactly the same range of colours that we find in the little - glass bottles of Phœnician or Egyptian origin, with zig-zag patterns - (1500-400 B.C.). - - [22] See Vogt, _La Porcelaine_, p. 219. The problem is really more - complicated. For simplicity’s sake we have ignored the changes that - take place in the glaze that lies between the enamels and the paste. - - [23] The same result may be obtained by painting one colour over the - other, as we find in the black ground of the _famille verte_. - - [24] In Persia, where for three centuries at least the Chinese wares - have been known and imitated, the word _chini_ has almost the same - connotation. See below for a discussion of the route by which this - word reached England. - - [25] During the eighteenth century, however, the French missionaries - remained in friendly relation with the Chinese court, especially with - the Emperor Kien-lung, a man of culture and a poet. The Père Amiot - sent home not only letters with valuable information, but from time to - time presents of porcelain from the emperor. He was in correspondence - with the minister Bertin, who was himself a keen collector of - porcelain. See the notes in the Catalogue of Bertin’s sale, Paris, - 1815. - - [26] Thanks to the industry of the present curator, Herr Zimmermann, - the same may now be said of the great collection at Dresden. - - [27] For a discussion, and for many illustrations of the art of these - early dynasties which survives chiefly in objects of jade or bronze, - see Paléologue, _Art Chinois_, Paris, 1887. - - [28] The wild statements as to the transparency, above all, of the - Sung and even the Tang porcelain may, however, appear to receive some - confirmation from the reports of the old Arab travellers. But how - much credence we can give to these authorities may be gleaned from - a description of the fayence of Egypt, by a Persian traveller of - the eleventh century. ‘This ware of Misr,’ he says, ‘is so fine and - diaphanous that the hand may be seen through it when it is applied to - the side of the vessel.’ He is speaking not of porcelain, but of a - silicious glazed earthenware! - - [29] _Pekin Oriental Society_, 1886; see also Bushell’s _Ceramic Art_, - p. 132 seq. - - [30] See the passage in his _History_ (chapter ix.) where this stern - censor, referring to the passion for collecting china, rebukes the - ‘frivolous and inelegant fashion’ for ‘these grotesque baubles.’ - - [31] The name Céladon first occurs in the _Astrée_, the once famous - novel of Honoré D’Urfé. When later in the seventeenth century Céladon, - the courtier-shepherd, was introduced on the stage, he appeared in a - costume of greyish green, which became the fashionable colour of the - time, and his name was transferred to the Chinese porcelain with a - glaze of very similar colour, which was first introduced into France - about that period. - - [32] Julien translated the word _ching_ as blue, an unfortunate - rendering in this case, which has been the cause of much confusion. - He was so far justified in this, in that the same word is used by the - Chinese for the cobalt blue of our ‘blue and white,’ while it was not - applied by them to a pronounced green tint. - - [33] I shall return to this point when treating of English porcelain. - - [34] Somewhat later the Chinese were for a time neighbours of the - Sassanian empire, where the arts of glazing pottery and making glass - were highly developed. Sassanian bronzes, and probably textiles, have - found their way to Japan. - - [35] The salt-glazed ware of Europe seems to be the only important - exception to this perhaps rather sweeping generalisation. - - [36] It is possible, however, that some of the various tints of brown - used from early Ming times, especially that known to the Chinese as - ‘old gold,’ may have been suggested by this copper lustre. The ground - on which this lustre is superimposed in some old Persian wares is of - a very similar shade. Dr. Bushell mentions a tradition that the old - potters tried to produce a yellow colour by adding metallic gold to - their glaze, but that the gold all disappeared in the heat of the - _grand feu_. They had therefore to fall back upon the _or bruni_. - - [37] Consult for this ware the beautifully illustrated monographs of - Mr. Henry Wallis on early Persian ceramics. - - [38] The cobalt pigment itself, when not of native origin, was known - to the Chinese in Ming times as _Hui-hui ch’ing_ or ‘Mohammedan blue.’ - The other names for the material, _sunipo_ and _sumali_, probably - point in the same direction. - - [39] A little white oval vase, in the Treasury of St. Mark’s, at - Venice, may possibly be of this old Ting ware. The decoration is in - low relief, and four little rings for suspension surround the mouth. - In any case this is the only piece in this famous collection that has - any claim to be classed as porcelain. - - [40] The style of this _cloisonné_ decoration is almost identical - with that seen in the two magnificent lacquer screens with landscapes - and Buddhist emblems at South Kensington. The chains of pearls and - _pendeloques_ are characteristic of a style of painting often found on - the beams and ceilings of the old Buddhist temples of Japan. This is, - I think, a _motif_ not found elsewhere on Chinese porcelain. - - [41] The late M. Du Sartel gives in his work on Chinese porcelain good - photographs of some jars of this class in his collection. He was one - of the first to call attention to this ware. - - [42] This dull surface is especially noticeable in some of the - specimens with Arabic inscriptions in the British Museum; these date - from the Cheng-te period (1505-21). - - [43] In Persia, too, and in that country accompanied by many other - varieties of Chinese porcelain. For examples of these wares see above - all the collection at South Kensington. - - [44] _Relations des Musulmans avec les Chinois._ It is not impossible, - however, that further research may bring to light some information on - this subject. Since writing this I hear from Dr. Bushell that some - specimens of Saracenic enamelled glass, presumably of the fourteenth - century, have lately been purchased in Pekin. The Arab trade with - China was probably never more active than in the first half of the - fifteenth century. It is with the Memlook Sultans, then ruling a wide - empire from Cairo, that we must associate most of this enamelled - glass, and the Eastern trade was in their hands. - - [45] See Bushell, p. 454. - - [46] Note that cobalt as an enamel colour was not applied on porcelain - during Ming times. - - [47] There is, however, a curious old bowl in the Salting collection - with the nien-hao of Cheng-te (1505-21), on which a design of iron - red, two shades of green, a brownish purple, _and a cobalt blue of - poor lavender tint, all these colours over the glaze_, is combined - with an _underglaze_ decoration of fish, in a full _copper red_. Note - also the early use of a cobalt blue enamel, _sur couverte_, in the - Kakiyemon ware of Japan. - - [48] Much of this kind was translated by Julien, and a good summary - may be found in Hippisley’s paper contributed to the Smithsonian - Institute, but the information from the same and other sources is - more accurately translated and critically analysed in the seventh and - eighth chapters of Dr. Bushell’s great work. - - [49] Yung-lo, according to the Chinese reckoning, did not commence his - reign until the new year’s day following the death of his predecessor - (1403). I have, however, thought it better to adopt the European - method of reckoning dates. - - [50] The name _Sentoku_ that they give to it is the Japanese reading - of the characters forming this emperor’s name. - - [51] We may mention that a pair of wide-mouthed vases of this ware, - shown at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1896, bore the nien-hao of - Kia-tsing (1521-66) inscribed round the mouth. - - [52] More properly a _fresh name was given to the period_, but for the - sake of brevity we here as elsewhere identify the emperor’s name with - that given to the nien-hao. - - [53] The Trenchard bowls, mentioned below, belong probably to this or - to the following reign. - - [54] But this name is also applied by some to the older Su-ma-li blue. - - [55] Perhaps the earliest nien-hao on a piece of blue and white in - which we can place any confidence. - - [56] A predecessor of his as viceroy and superintendent at - King-te-chen was _Lang Ting-tso_, from whom the famous Lang yao, the - _sang de bœuf_, had its name, though this derivation is not absolutely - certain. It could only have been quite in the last days of the latter - viceroy’s rule that much good work was turned out from the kilns. - - [57] It will be observed that the turquoise blue and the green, both - derived from copper, so happily combined in the wall-tiles of the - Saracenic East, are in China rarely found united in the decoration of - the same piece, and this arises from practical difficulties connected - with the fluxes and the firing. At least the two colours are never - _successfully_ combined, for the attempt was apparently made in Ming - times, and of this some instances are given in the following note. - Indeed I should be inclined to regard such a combination on any piece - as an evidence of early, probably of Ming, origin. - - [58] I would especially point to a remarkable water-vessel, about ten - inches high, in the collection at Dresden. This vase is in the form - of a phœnix. _Green_, as well as _turquoise_, purple and yellow are - all found in the decoration, and the colours are all well developed. - There is in the British Museum--a collection in many ways remarkable - for the number of exceptional types illustrated--a jar with cover, of - this class. The ground is a dull purple covered with small spirals - of black; the rest of the decoration--rocks, waves, flowers, and - jewels--is mainly green of two shades with a little yellow. On some of - the flowers, however, we see a poor attempt at turquoise blue. Next - to this example stands a baluster-shaped vase with tall, straight - neck (PL. VII. 2.). The ground is here of a pale greyish yellow, with - crackles of a darker shade--so far, in fact, of a Ko yao type. The - decoration is of a predominant leafy green, with a little purple and - yellow here and there; but on the flowers we find, in addition, an - enamel of turquoise, poor in colour, indeed, but certainly a copper - blue. Both these examples are classed as Ming, and both would seem - to show that the combination of the turquoise enamel (essentially - a silicate of copper and soda) with the lead-fluxed green had been - attempted in Ming times. It was, however, impossible to obtain - satisfactory results in this way, so that in Kang-he’s time the - turquoise was reserved for the _demi grand feu_, and the green alone - used as an enamel over the glaze. - - [59] ‘Muffle-colours,’ of course in these later examples painted over - the glaze, and therefore to be classed as enamels. - - [60] In this respect we may compare such decoration to a dark - water-colour drawing on white paper, where advantage is only taken of - the white ground for scattered lights here and there. - - [61] We must always think of this great man in connection with his - contemporary in France, Louis XIV. Omitting the early years of the - French king, before he attained his majority, the two long reigns run - almost exactly together. - - [62] This list is to be found in Julien’s book. Dr. Bushell has since - given a more accurate translation, accompanied by a careful analysis - (_Chinese Ceramics_, chapter xii.). - - [63] The red paste of early times was, however, imitated, and a - ‘copper paste’ is also mentioned in connection with these old wares. - The last expression is obscure, but it has certainly nothing to do - with an enamel on copper. - - [64] On the other hand, on some large showy vases of this time we can - trace a series of rings, giving an uneven surface. These are caused - either by the undue pressure of the potter’s fingers (_vissage_), or - perhaps in part by the way in which the successive stages of the jar - were built up with ‘sausage-shaped’ rolls of clay. - - [65] How this iron red was manipulated, apparently at a transition - period, so as to obtain an effect approaching that of the _rouge - d’or_, is described on page 162. - - [66] A ruby-red can be obtained by careful manipulation from gold - alone. We may regard the addition of tin as a convenient method of - developing the colour which was apparently known to the mediæval - alchemists. - - [67] It would be a point of special interest to determine the date - when these two colours--the pink (used as a ground) and the opaque - turquoise blue--were first used in China. Their presence together - with the lemon-yellow gives perhaps the first note of a period of - decline. There is in the British Museum a bowl and saucer covered - on the outside with this rose enamel and bearing this unusual - inscription--‘the _Sin-chou_ year occurring again.’ This expression - was referred by Franks to the sixty-first year of the reign of - Kang-he, when the cyclical year in which his reign began recurred - again, an unprecedented fact in Chinese history. In the same - collection is a saucer-shaped plate with a pale pink ground with - the mark of the period Yung-cheng. But the evidence in favour of a - somewhat later date for the fully developed use of the _rouge d’or_ - seems to me fairly strong. Dr. Bushell, however, tells me that he has - seen other examples where the same inscription is found upon ware - decorated with the _rouge d’or_, and that he accepts the early date - (1722) on the Sin-chou plate. I return to this question on page 136. - - [68] Julien omitted this curious passage in his translation as devoid - of interest! - - [69] There are two magnificent vases of the black lacquered ware, each - about eight feet high, in the Musée Guimet, and of the brown variety a - well-preserved spherical bowl may be seen at South Kensington. - - [70] The snuff-bottles of the Chinese represent the _inro_ of the - Japanese. Both were originally used for pills and for eye medicine. - - [71] Dr. Bushell tells us that she is an accomplished artist and - calligraphist, and that her autograph signature is much valued. She is - said to have sent down from the palace, to be copied at King-te-chen, - bowls and dishes of the time of Kien-lung, just as that emperor in his - day forwarded from Pekin examples of Sung and Ming wares with the same - object. So the old tradition is kept up! - - [72] These references are to the plates of marks at the end of the - book. - - [73] See, however, p. 110 note, for a curious instance of its use. - - [74] A good example of a date-mark of Wan-li in this position may be - seen on the vase reproduced on PL. VII. Fig. 2. - - [75] Why, by the way, do we find, in catalogues otherwise well edited, - porcelain ascribed to the Kang-he _dynasty_? One might as well speak - of the Louis XIV. dynasty. - - [76] At least such was the case when the Canal was in working order. - For some time since, the Grand Canal has only been navigable _when the - country is flooded_. - - [77] I cannot find the exact date of the first publication of these - letters. In the eighteenth century we find them generally quoted from - Du Halde. - - [78] This is a passage made use of by Longfellow in those often-quoted - lines beginning-- - - ‘A burning town, or seeming so, - Three thousand furnaces that glow,’ etc. - - - [79] If we are to understand by this ‘transparent pebble’ some form of - arsenic, for it would seem that arsenic (and not tin as with us) is - the base of the opaque white enamels of the Chinese, it is difficult - to believe that so volatile a substance could be thus prepared. - - [80] For the use of steatite in English porcelain see chap. xxii. At - Vinovo, in Piedmont, another magnesian mineral has been employed for - the paste. - - [81] In the following summary I have kept to the Père D’Entrecolles’s - words as far as possible, but with considerable abbreviations. - - [82] We must here think of the more sober _famille verte_ lantern at - South Kensington, rather than of the magnificent specimen of pierced - work in the Salting collection, which is of later date. - - [83] The unique bowl of Chinese porcelain illustrated in Du Sartel’s - book, of which the outside is decorated in black and gold in imitation - of the Limoges enamel of the renaissance, may have had some such - origin. This piece, on which even the initials of the original French - artist have been copied, was formerly in the Marquis collection, and - is now to be seen in the Grandidier Gallery at the Louvre. - - [84] We have already alluded to this point, _à propos_ of a bowl in - the British Museum; see p. 110 note. - - [85] This branch of the subject is fully worked out in chapter xvii. - of Dr. Bushell’s work. - - [86] When compared with a similar collection of European wares, - perhaps the most noticeable difference is the small number of vessels - adapted to _pouring_. So much is this the case that when we find a - spout or lip on a specimen of Chinese porcelain, the piece takes - at once a somewhat exotic aspect, and we are reminded of the Arab - _Ibraik_, or the European ewer. - - [87] It is a curious fact that London chemists now send out their - pills in little glass bottles almost identical in shape and size with - these Chinese yao-ping. - - [88] The word is used in a restricted sense as explained above. - - [89] We have far too often to fall back on names of French origin. Our - colour-vocabulary in the case of the enamels and glazes of porcelain - is a sadly poor one. - - [90] In the case of some monochrome ware the colour may have been - painted on the raw paste or on the biscuit, and a colourless glaze - then added; or again, as in the case of the coral red mentioned below, - it may be painted like an enamel _over_ the glaze. - - [91] It must, however, be remembered that this carved lacquer itself - is sometimes applied as a coating to porcelain in China. - - [92] It would be convenient to have a name to include the whole - series--the _flambé_, the _sang de bœuf_, the lavender Yuan, and - perhaps also the peach-bloom and the ‘robin’s egg.’ I would propose to - include _all these classes_ under the head of _transmutation glazes_. - - [93] A French writer compares the effect to the ‘palette d’un - coloriste montrée sous un morceau de glace’ (E. de Goncourt, _La - Maison d’un Artiste_). - - [94] There were many kinds of ‘furnace transmutations’ known to the - Chinese, mostly of a miraculous nature (see Bushell, p. 219). - - [95] When applied to _the whole surface_, a similar slip forms the - ground on which the decoration is painted in the case of many kinds of - European and Saracenic fayence, but in such ware the slip is used to - conceal a more or less coarse and coloured paste. - - [96] It may, however, be noticed, on close examination, that the - crackles do not seem to be developed in the lower glaze covered by the - slip. This would rather point to both the first and the second coats - of glaze, as well as the intermediate slip, being all applied before - the firing. - - [97] Not that we need claim any great age for these plates, but it is - in such places that old types (as _e.g._ the celadon) are likely to - continue in fashion. - - [98] We may perhaps connect the first steady export of ‘blue and - white’ direct to Europe with the establishment of the Dutch at - Nagasaki, where they probably employed Chinese workmen. - - [99] So what is by far the most successful imitation of Chinese ‘blue - and white’ ever produced in Europe was made by the Dutch, in the - enamelled fayence of Delft, about the middle of the century. - - [100] In Japanese art also we find the prunus as a symbol of the - approaching spring, but there the branches are covered with freshly - fallen snow. The contrast of the weather in early spring, in China and - Japan respectively, could not be better expressed--by ice in the one - case, by soft thawing snow in the other. - - [101] Dr. Zimmermann, the curator of the Dresden Museum, regards the - black division of the _famille verte_ as a product of the _demi grand - feu_, _i.e._ he holds that the black and green was painted on the - biscuit. But this is certainly not the case with the fully developed - examples. I may say that this class is only represented at Dresden by - some small roughly painted plates. - - [102] We find it so used, however, upon the Japanese ‘Kakiyemon’ - porcelain, some of which cannot be much later than the middle of the - seventeenth century. - - [103] Since writing this I have discovered a tall-necked bottle of - this ware at South Kensington, which is stated to have been purchased - in Persia (PL. XX.). - - [104] That is to say, no attempt was ever made to imitate the - material--the hard paste. - - [105] An important collection of armorial china was bequeathed to the - Museum in 1887 by the Rev. Charles Walker. - - [106] This plate belongs to a group in which the arms, above all the - mantlings, are in the style of the seventeenth century. On these the - _gules_ is always rendered by an opaque iron-red, although the new - _rouge d’or_ is freely used in the rest of the decoration. I learn - from my friend Colonel Croft Lyons that the arms on this plate are - those of Leake Okeover, who was born in 1701. The initials, repeated - four times on the margin, L. M. O., stand for Leake and his wife Mary. - The plate, therefore, cannot well have been painted before, say, 1725. - - [107] This class of Kuang yao must not be confused with the old heavy - pieces of Yuan ware mentioned on p. 77. - - [108] I quote, with a few contractions, from the edition of 1774. - - [109] I have examined the Korean pottery in the British Museum, at - Sèvres, and that in some of the German museums, but I have not seen - the specimens in the Ethnographical Museum at Hamburg, which are said - to be very remarkable. - - [110] For an account of the exploration of Sawankalok, see _Man_, - the volume for 1901. By the kind permission of Mr. Read I have been - able to closely examine the specimens which are now deposited in the - British Museum. - - [111] We may mention that the Japanese appear also to give the name - of Kochi to other wares, especially to the deep blue and turquoise - porcelain with decoration in ribbed cloisons which we have attributed - to early Ming times. - - [112] We may compare with this the impulse given, some four hundred - years later, in Europe, to the spread of the use of porcelain at the - time when tea was first introduced in the West. - - [113] See page 66. This Sung ware is known to the Japanese as - ‘_Temmoku_,’ and is highly esteemed by them. - - [114] Many, however, of these so-called Jesuit plates were probably - painted at King-te-chen at a later date. Christianity was finally and - ruthlessly crushed in Japan after the rebellion of 1637: in China - it was tolerated up to the close of the reign of Kang-he (1721). I - must refer back to a quotation from the Père D’Entrecolles given on - p. 133. See also a curious note in Marryat, where a statuette of - Quanyin, with the boy patron of learning, is described as ‘a Virgin - and Child.’--_Pottery and Porcelain_, p. 293. - - [115] In the Dresden collection are several cases full of this early - Japanese blue and white. - - [116] The Chinese, however, were given much greater liberty than the - Dutch. - - [117] See the South Kensington handbook on Japanese pottery, p. 86. - In the chapter on Japanese ceramics contained in the magnificently - illustrated _History of the Arts of Japan_, published in 1901 in - connection with the Paris Exhibition, a little further light is thrown - on the history of porcelain in that country. But in this work and in - the other guides published at the time of our American and European - exhibitions (and the same may be said of the Japanese report contained - in the South Kensington handbook), the same scanty materials are - served up again and again. - - [118] _Ambassades Mémorables de la Compagnie des Indes Orientales des - Provinces Unies vers les Empereurs du Japon_, Amsterdam, 1680, Part - II. p. 102. I take the reference from Marryat, but I have not been - able to find the book. - - [119] We know of no Chinese type to which we can refer this - decoration. Certain points of resemblance have been found with the - work of the great contemporary Japanese artist Tanyu. The most - characteristic _motifs_ are the tiger, the dancing boy with long - sleeves, and the straw hedge. - - [120] The ‘old Japan’ was at one time closely copied at King-te-chen - for exportation to Europe. (_Cf._ PL. XXIV. 1.) - - [121] The composition of the Owari porcelain is more normal, the - silica only amounting to 65 per cent.; but as the paste contains - little or no lime, it comes nearer to the hard porcelain of Berlin - than to the milder Chinese type. - - [122] Much, however, of the china-stone of Cornwall differs little in - composition from the Imari stone; but the latter contains, as we have - said, soda, in place of the more usual potash. - - [123] It is to this _Koransha_, I understand, that we are indebted for - the historical notices on Japanese porcelain that have appeared on the - occasion of our successive international exhibitions (see above, p. - 183 note). - - [124] Captain Brinkley speaks of the lower edge being serrated, but I - have never seen any specimen of this serration. - - [125] Another seal was granted to Zengoro with the inscription - (reading in Chinese) _Hopin chi liu_ (PL. B. 24). This refers to an - old tradition that Shun, a Chinese emperor of very early date, had, - before his accession to the throne, made pottery at a place called - Hopin, in Honan. This story is told by Ssuma Chien, the ‘Herodotus of - China,’ and would be well known to scholars in Japan. These characters - are sometimes found on Japanese ware. (_Cf._ Bushell, chap. i., and - the Franks catalogue, fig. 191, where, however, the words are wrongly - interpreted.) Yeiraku, I should add, may be also rendered ‘long - content.’ - - [126] This question of the relation between the Kishiu, the Kochi of - the Japanese, and our class of old Ming wares with coloured glazes, - is full of difficulties. It remains for some Japanese connoisseur, - who is at the same time both an expert in ceramics and a good Chinese - scholar, to clear it up. - - [127] This work is analysed by Dr. Hirth in his essay on _Ancient - Chinese Porcelain_ already referred to. - - [128] Dr. Meyer, who brought this collection together, has always - supported the theory that in early days no true porcelain was ever - made except in China. In support of this he points to the specimens, - including ‘wasters,’ from Sawankalok in Siam, in this collection, - as being all of stoneware. We have seen (p. 173) that more recent - excavations in the same neighbourhood have brought to light fragments - of true porcelain of undoubted local manufacture. It is true, however, - that most of the examples of celadon in the Dresden collection are of - what we should call a kaolinic stoneware. - - [129] I suppose that Franks, who refers to this notice, was satisfied - that the present really consisted of Chinese ware. Many slips have - been made in quoting this passage, but I will only point out that - Nureddin, who died in 1173, has no claim to the title of caliph. - - [130] This belief, however, long lingered not only in the East, but - even in Europe. According to some, if poison was present, the bowl - lost its transparency; others state that the liquid would boil up in - the centre, remaining clear round the edge. In a French comic poem, - written as late as 1716, among other merits possessed by vessels of - Chinese porcelain, it is claimed for them that-- - - ‘Ils font connaître les mystères - Des bouillons à la Brinvillière.’ - - - [131] By far the greater number of the fragments are of local or at - least of Saracenic origin, and many of them may be as old as the date - mentioned in the text. But at Fostât, at all events, some of the - pot-sherds are of a much later date. There are important collections - of fragments from these rubbish-heaps both in the British Museum and - at South Kensington. - - [132] Professor Karabacek of Vienna quotes from the encyclopædist - Hâdji Khalifa, who died in 1658: ‘The precious magnificent celadon - dishes seen in his time were manufactured and exported at Martabani, - in Pegu.’ - - [133] The little bowl of apple-green porcelain in the British Museum, - ‘garnished’ with a mounting of the time of Henry VIII., has perhaps as - long a European history. The two ‘Trenchard’ bowls (in spite of the - later date of the mounting) probably came to England in 1506. - - [134] I think that it is not unlikely that during the time that - King-te-chen lay waste, kilns may have been erected somewhere in - the neighbourhood of the Canton river, and that from these kilns - originated much of the rough ware, hastily decorated in blue, that - reached India and Persia in such quantities at this time (_cf._ the - statement of Raynal quoted on p. 166). We have spoken in the last - chapter of the influence of these events upon the Japanese trade. - - [135] I am referring, of course, to Stuart times. In the eighteenth - century the so-called Gombroon ware was of Persian origin, and - recognised as such in England. - - [136] The word ‘china’ is used in this sense, I think, by no other - European nation. - - [137] See, however, for the Portuguese merchants who sold porcelain in - France, the note on page 230. - - [138] The Abbé Raynal, writing about 1770, says that connoisseurs - divide Oriental porcelain into six classes--‘_truitée_, _vieille - blanche_, _de Japon_, _de Chine_, _le Japon Chiné et la porcelaine des - Indes_.’ - - [139] Marryat’s extracts are unfortunately often carelessly quoted; - nor is it easy in all cases to control them by reference to the - originals. - - [140] August II. certainly bought a collection of porcelain from the - Bassetouche family for 6750 thalers. It would be interesting to know - of what wares this collection consisted. The only further additions - until quite recent times have been to the European department. - - [141] The tradition of the ‘dinner-service’ made in China for Charles - V., and presented by him to Moritz of Saxony (or, as others say, - captured from him by that prince), belongs to the same category of - stories as that of the crusader’s cup. No such commission as this - was possible at so early a date, and there is nothing in the Dresden - collection that could be connected with such a service. - - [142] - - ‘Menez-moi chez les Portugais - Nous y verrons à peu de frais - Des marchandises de la Chine - ... de la porcelaine fine,’ etc.--Scarron, _Paris Burlesque_. - - - [143] In 1689 Madame de Sévigné notes the quantity of Oriental - porcelain imported at L’Orient. - - [144] Are we to identify these with some huge Imari vases, now in the - Louvre, with coats of arms bearing the French lilies and the label of - Orleans? Some similar vases, with the same arms, have lately been seen - in dealers’ shops in London. - - [145] The catalogues of Gersaint and of some other early French - collections may be found at South Kensington. - - [146] Passeri, writing in 1752 in favour of the then neglected - majolica, claims that ‘la parte brutale dell’ uomo sarà a favor delle - porcellane, ma l’intellettuale e raziocinativa giudicherà a favor - delle nostre majoliche.’ - - [147] Recent researches in the archives of Venice have proved that - Oriental porcelain was comparatively abundant in Venice at the - beginning of the sixteenth century. Dr. Ludwig has shown me extracts - from the inventory of the property of a rich ‘cittadino’ who died in - 1526, in which can be distinguished plain white, blue and white, and - porcelain decorated with red, green, and gold. - - [148] It is quite possible that Palissy may have tried his hand at - this problem. M. Solon has suggested that in the many years’ labour - at Saintes (when attempting especially to imitate ‘the cup with white - enamel’) Palissy was really seeking to make porcelain. - - [149] I take the following from the excellent catalogue of the Ceramic - Museum at Limoges, by E. Garnier: ‘1125. _Pot à Pommade, de forme - cylindrique godronné à la partie inférieure et décoré en bleu d’une - bande de lambrequins. Marque_ A.P.’ Some other small pieces in this - museum are classed as Rouen porcelain. - - [150] Professor Church allows that ‘the substance of some of these - statuettes is distinctly porcellanous.’ He found, however, in a - fragment of this ware as much as 79·5 per cent. of silica, and only - 12·5 per cent. of alumina (_Cantor Lectures_, 1881). - - [151] This feeling is well expressed in a contemporary drinking-song:-- - - ‘To drink is a Christian diversion - Unfit for your Turk or your Persian; - Let Mohammedan fools live by heathenish rules, - And get drunk over tea-cups and coffee, - But let British lads sing, give a rouse for the king, - A fig for your Turk and your Sophi.’ - - The punch-bowl of porcelain, however, came to the rescue about this - time. - - [152] In the porcelain gallery at Dresden may be seen (together with - one or two small lumps of gold and silver, the results of Böttger’s - alchemistic experiments) some snuff-boxes and little flasks of a - marbled glass, made by Tschirnhaus at an early date. It is probable - that the latter experimenter’s researches lay rather in the way of a - frit-made soft paste, on the same lines as the contemporary attempts - in France. - - [153] And yet, forty years later (so well was the secret kept), it was - maintained by practical authorities in France that the Saxon ware was - no true porcelain, but only some kind of hard enamel. See Hellot’s - _Mémoire_, quoted below. - - [154] We hear, however, of Dutch potters being engaged as early as - 1708, and with their assistance Böttger, in 1709, made some imitations - of Delft ware. - - [155] In a contemporary German pamphlet, which I only know from a - French translation (_Secret des Vrais Porcelaines de la Chine et de - Saxe_, Paris, 1752), a certain ‘_spath alkalin_’ is mentioned as an - important element in Saxon porcelain, and this substance is identified - with the petuntse of the Père D’Entrecolles. - - [156] If this colour is derived from the purple of Cassius, as seems - probable, it is an important instance of the early use of this pigment - upon porcelain. - - [157] Above all the famous ‘Swan Service’ of 1736, Kändler’s - masterpiece. - - [158] We had in England until lately an unrivalled collection of - these little groups--priceless specimens of the best period. They - were exhibited by their owner, Mr. Massey Mainwaring, for some time - at Bethnal Green. This collection has, however, now found its way to - America. - - [159] On the other hand, as early as 1732 the Meissen ware was - finding its way to the East. Quantities of little coffee-cups (known - as _Türken Copjen_, corrupted into _Türken Köpfchen_) were sent to - Constantinople to be re-exported to other Mohammedan countries. - - [160] We may remind the reader that it was a syndicate of Berlin - merchants who at an earlier date sought, it is said, to purchase from - Böttger his secret. There is little doubt, however, that the anecdotes - about Ringler, which abound in the notices on German porcelain, - are little more than ‘porcelain myths.’ Very similar anecdotes are - told of the early days at Vincennes, and in Japan, as we have seen, - such stories sometimes take a more tragical form. There is a strong - temptation, no doubt, in traversing the somewhat arid ground of German - ceramics, to fall back on such tales. At all events they belong to the - class of _tendenz Mährchen_, and illustrate the difficulties to be - overcome at that time in starting a new factory. - - [161] Not but that we have proof of his interest in the subject, as - the following letter, dated Meissen, March 28, 1761, will show. It - is written to Madame Camas, his _chère Maman_, who was then with the - queen at Magdeburg:--‘I send you, my dear mamma, a little trifle, - by way of keepsake and memento. You may use the box for your rouge, - for your patches, or you may put snuff in it or bonbons or pills.... - I have ordered porcelain for all the world, for Schönhausen, for my - sisters-in-law,--in fact I am rich in this brittle material only. And - I hope the receivers will accept it as current money: for the truth - is, we are poor as can be, good mamma. I have nothing left but my - honour, my coat, my sword, and my porcelain.’--Carlyle’s _Frederick - the Great_, Book xx. chap. vi. Marryat, who gives this letter in his - notes, mixes up Carlyle’s comments with the text. - - [162] The Hohenzollern shield bears two sceptres in saltire _en - surtout_. - - [163] Another account gives the credit to Von Löwenfinck, a porcelain - painter from Meissen. - - [164] Politically, that is to say; for the town formed part of the - ‘Pays d’Étrangers,’ and its commercial and social relations were still - rather with Germany than with France. - - [165] I take these facts about the Hannong family from Sir A. - Wollaston Franks’s _Catalogue of Continental Porcelain_, 1896. - - [166] In the same year we find Count Schimmelmann, who at a later date - interested himself in the Copenhagen factory, selling by auction at - Hamburg some of the vast stocks of Meissen china that Frederick had - thrown on the market. - - [167] As a royal factory, however, it became extinct in 1864. See - chap. xxiii. - - [168] Thus we have, during the Seven Years’ War, Frederick’s three - bitter opponents--Maria Theresa in Austria, Elizabeth in Russia, and - the Marquise de Pompadour in France--all taking an active interest - in promoting the manufacture of porcelain, and this rivalry may have - added to the zest of Frederick when he looted Meissen and sought to - make Berlin take its place as the metropolis of porcelain. - - [169] An American writer has arranged the tests by which soft pastes - may be distinguished from true porcelains under six heads. 1. _The - file test._--Soft porcelain may be marked by a file. 2. _The foot - test._--In hard porcelain the foot is generally rough and unglazed. - This test is rather of value in distinguishing porcelain from fayence. - 3. _The fire test._--Depending on the greater fusibility of the soft - pastes. 4. _Chemical test._ 5. _Colour test._--Soft paste is generally - mellow ivory by transmitted light, and this is especially true of - ‘bone-ware.’ The hard paste tends to bluish shades. 6. _Fracture - test._--The fracture is glassy to vitreous, and the glaze passes into - the paste in the case of hard pastes (the subconchoidal splintery - fracture is rather the point to observe); dry and chalky, and the - glaze more or less separated from the paste in the case of soft - pastes.--E. A. Barber, _Pottery and Porcelain of the United States_, - New York, 1901. - - [170] De Réaumur, we must remember, had made some kind of hard-paste - porcelain from Chinese materials. After that he fell back upon his - devitrified glass. Something very similar had been made by Tschirnhaus - many years before. - - [171] These, I think, are almost the only instances in which a - distinctly seventeenth century decoration is to be found on porcelain. - - [172] These _trembleuse_ saucers of the early eighteenth century have - a projecting ring into which the base of the teacup fits. - - [173] The extreme limits for this mark are 1712-62, but Chaffers says - it was not used before 1730, according to another authority not before - 1735. De Frasnay, in a note to his curious little poem in praise of - fayence (1735), says: ‘_le secret du beau rouge n’est guère connu - en France que d’un très petit nombre de personnes_.’ The point is - of interest in connection with the origin of the _famille rose_ in - China. We may here note that the minute quantity of gold--the source - of all these pink and purple colours--is not necessarily introduced in - the form of the tin salt, the purple of Cassius. But this difficult - question will be best treated in connection with the history of glass. - - [174] Generally known as the Duc de Bourbon (1710-40). He was an - enthusiast for the art of the Far East. An important work on Chinese - art was published under his auspices in 1735. He imitated the painted - hangings of the East, and even attempted to make Japanese lacquer. - After his death, the two brothers Dubois, _épiciers à Chantilly_, - migrated to Vincennes, and the Chantilly works were for a time - neglected. See Gustave Macon, _Les arts dans la Maison de Condé_, 1903. - - [175] Of the many European imitations of the ‘Kakiyemon’ style the - Chantilly is most successful, while the ‘Old Japan’ was best copied - at Chelsea. No European imitation in porcelain of the Chinese blue - and white approaches in brilliancy that made in Delft ware in the - seventeenth century. - - [176] The porcelain of Saint-Cloud and Chantilly is well represented - in the Fitzhenry collection. - - [177] Some twenty miles south of Paris, not far from Corbeil. - - [178] The name is written ‘Sèves’ in English catalogues of the - eighteenth century, and the same form is found sometimes in - contemporary French writings. We may compare the favourite signature - ‘Fédéric’ of the Prussian king. - - [179] _Mémoire Historique pour la Manufacture, rédigé en 1781 par - Bachelier_, re-edited, with preface and notes, by G. Gouellain, Paris, - 1878. - - [180] See the note on p. 286. It would seem that the first successes - at Vincennes were, in a measure, dependent upon the temporary breaking - up of the factory at Chantilly on the death of the Duc de Bourbon in - 1740. - - [181] At a later time this man had a contract for the delivery of the - paste, the secret of which he preserved, at a fixed rate per pound. In - one year he is said to have received for this 800,000 livres! - - [182] Such is my general impression, but M. Garnier, I see, speaks - highly of his artistic capabilities. Bachelier founded in 1763 a free - school of design, one of the few institutions of the old régime that - have survived the many changes of government. It still exists as the - _École Nationale des Beaux-Arts_. - - [183] By this we get a hint as to the kind of ware made at Vincennes - at the commencement, when under the influence of Chantilly. - - [184] The account-books of these sales are still preserved. M. - Davillier, in his little book on _Les porcelaines de Sèvres et Madame - du Barry_, quotes the record of purchases made (at a later date, for - the most part) by the royal family, by Madame du Deffand, and by M. de - Voltaire. The latter bought, for 120 livres, ‘_Deux bustes de mondit - Sieur, en biscuit_.’ Besides this, large sales were made yearly to the - trade. - - [185] The above description is that given by the Prince de Ligne in - his memoirs. In the Johanneum at Dresden there is now to be seen a - ‘bouquet’ which in every way corresponds to the prince’s account. - The Meissen works for long had the credit of this trophy, but it is - now acknowledged that it is identical with the present sent by the - dauphine, in 1748, to her father, the Elector of Saxony. M. Davillier - quotes a curious account from a contemporary memoir describing the - difficulties and expenses incurred in transporting this ‘bouquet’ from - Paris to Dresden. Are we, then, to regard it as the actual present - given by M. de Fulvi to the queen, or as a duplicate? - - [186] See for this and other references to porcelain in the _chronique - scandaleuse_ of the day, the little book of M. Davillier quoted above. - - [187] Some attention was paid to the housing and comfort of the - workmen at the new establishment, but Bachelier makes no mention of - ‘the gardens, cascades, fruit-trees, groves, woods, and a small chase - for the artists, who enjoyed to hunt the stag and the wild boar none - the less for their sedentary lives in the art palace’ (Marryat, p. - 414). On the contrary, we are told that in a few years the houses and - workshops were already threatening to fall down on the workmen’s heads. - - [188] M. Bertin was himself a great collector of Chinese porcelain. - In the _avertissement_ of the catalogue of his collection which was - sold in Paris in 1815, we are told that through the medium of the Père - Amiot he obtained many choice specimens, some of them direct presents - from the Chinese emperor. We have already alluded to Kien-lung’s - interest in exotic wares, and to the influence of these upon the - native decoration. - - [189] In the _fond lapis caillouté_ the deep blue ground is painted - with fine veins of gold, to imitate the pyrites which generally - accompanies the native stone (lapis lazuli). It was used as early as - 1758 (see Wallace collection, Gallery XVIII., Case C.). - - [190] As many as one hundred and sixty pieces, it is said, were - carried off during a fire at Tsarskoe Selo. Some of these were - afterwards repurchased by the Tsar Nicholas. - - [191] Marryat quotes a passage to the following effect from a little - work published at Venice soon after the death of the favourite. - Praising the good taste of the ‘_Madame Marchesa_,’ the writer states - that this was, above all, manifested in the adornment of her table. - All the porcelain was expressly manufactured for her at Sèvres, and - was of _a rose colour mixed with gold_. The value amounted to 257,000 - livres, and no sovereign possessed a service of equal beauty. - - [192] It is found as a ground on pieces bearing the earliest - letter-marks, so that it is difficult to accept the statement that it - was first made by Xhrouet, a painter of landscapes, in 1757. - - [193] Much of it found its way to England, and was there decorated in - the old Sèvres style, both in London and in the West. - - [194] For a detailed description of these deposits and their - geological relations, see Brongniart’s great work. - - [195] Napoleon at one time sent Daru to Sèvres to convey to - Brongniart, in the most lively terms, his dissatisfaction with what he - called the simplicity and tameness of the designs in use at Sèvres. - Every piece should, he protests, ‘_dire quelque chose_.’ Every plate - should record glorious deeds, the capture of the enemy’s towns, or the - triumphant return of the victors. - - [196] We must, however, place some of these discoveries to the credit - of the staff of the Viennese factory, and Dihl again, the chemist of - the porcelain works in the Rue de Bondy, has a claim to others. - - [197] The death of M. Garnier occurred since the above was written. - - [198] The use of a bone-paste ware of the ‘Spode’ type is, however, - now prevalent not only in many parts of the continent, but porcelain - of this kind is now largely made in the United States. - - [199] Unless it be in the catalogue drawn up by Sir A. W. Franks - for his collection of continental china. The ceramic collection in - the Hamburg Museum has also been very thoroughly catalogued by Dr. - Brinckmann. - - [200] It is curious to find Venice at this time exporting porcelain to - the East, for at an earlier period it was through this town that so - much Oriental porcelain and fayence reached Europe. - - [201] This Venetian china, either of hard paste or of the hybrid - class, must not be confused with the opaque glass, the _lattimo_, - or, more properly, _Latisuol_, ware, made about 1730 in imitation of - porcelain both at Murano, and also near Bassano. - - [202] Compare with this the use of steatite, a magnesian rock, from - the Lizard, at Worcester, and at other West of England factories. The - Chinese have also at times made use of a steatitic rock. - - [203] Marryat (p. 451) gives an interesting account of this - enterprising man. He was occupied also in the draining of marshes, the - improvement of agriculture, and the promotion of commerce. - - [204] With this appointment we may perhaps connect the elaborate - trophy of white porcelain at South Kensington. The figures of slaves - on which this is supported are modelled after those of Tacca on the - celebrated monument at Leghorn. This piece is attributed, however, to - the Capo di Monte factory. - - [205] The word ‘china’ is sometimes used in Spain in the same vague - sense as in England, but the name seems only to have come in with the - Staffordshire ware so largely imported in the last century. Note, - however, that the factory at Buen Retiro was known as La China. - - [206] I quote this remarkable passage from Sir A. W. Franks’s paper on - the origin of the Chelsea porcelain works (_Archæol. Journal_, 1862). - Marryat misquotes and misinterprets the passage. - - [207] One possible exception to this very general statement may be - found in a pamphlet quoted by Mr. Solon, _Instructions how to make - as good china as was ever sold by the East India Company_ by A. - Hill, London, 1716. According to this writer, fragments of Oriental - china were to be finely ground and mixed with fluxing and plastic - materials to form a paste. Now there is evidence that at a much later - date ‘potsherds’ were imported from China, and ground up to form an - ingredient of the porcelain, both at Bow and at Worcester. - - [208] The memorandum-book of Duesbury, the future porcelain king, - begins in 1742. He was then working, on weekly wages, as an - ‘enameller’ of china figures. But was the ware that he was decorating - at this time a true porcelain? - - [209] Mr. Burton says that at the present day the Staffordshire - porcelain is composed of bone-ash 6 parts, china-stone 4 parts, and - kaolin 3½ parts. - - [210] Mr. Willett, of Brighton, has a pair of ‘goat and bee’ jugs in - silver, with the hall-mark of 1739. - - [211] There is an interesting series of these very early pieces in the - British Museum. A white ware salt-cellar, with crayfish in relief, has - the triangle mark. A jug, in the form of a grotesque Chinaman, is a - good specimen of the early paste. We notice the same waxy look in the - paste that we find in the Saint-Cloud ware. The surface, however, is - generally grayer. - - [212] In 1758 we find an advertisement of a house to let in ‘China - Walk,’ Chelsea. - - [213] Both Gouyn and his successor, Sprimont, were very likely - Walloons from the neighbourhood of Liége. In a contemporary work, - however, the latter is spoken of as ‘a French artist of great - abilities.’ Rouguet’s _Present State of the Arts_, 1755. - - [214] Note the term ‘earthenware.’ As in a much earlier proclamation - of the time of Charles II. (forbidding the importation of painted - earthenware, except ‘those of China, and stone bottles and jugs’), the - word is used officially to include porcelain. - - [215] Such a regulation would seem to show that in England the - enamel-painters were in the field earlier than the manufacturers of - porcelain. - - [216] The later date is supported by the statement of Sprimont in his - ‘Case,’ that ‘the ground flat of the manufacturer has gone on still - increasing,’ for we know that the works were enlarged in 1757. The - expression ‘crowned head’ applies better to the King of Prussia than - to the Elector of Saxony. In 1760, as we have seen, Count Schimmelmann - was at Hamburg selling, on behalf of Frederick, part of the vast - stocks accumulated at Meissen. - - [217] In a London paper of December 4, 1763, appeared the following - statement--I quote from Mr. Nightingale’s book,--‘A few days since, - his R. Highness the Duke of Cumberland was at Mr. Sprimont’s - manufactory at Chelsea, and we are informed that his Highness will - shortly purchase the same, that so matchless an art should not be - lost.’ A week later, however, a formal contradiction of this report - appeared in another paper, in the form of a note at the end of an - advertisement of the sale of the contents of Sprimont’s factory. All - this has a very modern air. We have a skilful combination of the - _ballon d’essai_ and the puff preliminary. - - [218] This collection has lately disappeared from its old home in the - Geological Museum, where it had been the delight of two generations of - collectors. Most of the specimens have, however, quite recently been - discovered at South Kensington. - - [219] Much of the white ware at this time was decorated outside by - ‘chamberers.’ Compare the memorandum-book of Duesbury quoted below. - - [220] The advertisement of these sales in contemporary newspapers, and - many of the catalogues, have been collected together and reprinted by - the late Mr. J. E. Nightingale. - - [221] Before this time the gold had been simply laid on with - japanner’s size and only gently heated. See Burton’s _English - Porcelain_, p. 46. - - [222] There was a revival of the practice of mounting, or, to use - the old term, ‘garnishing’ porcelain in ormolu about this time. At - Boulton’s works at Soho, near Birmingham, famous, a little later, in - the history of the steam-engine, these metal mountings were largely - made, and Wedgwood began to apply them to some of his wares (see - Nightingale, p. xxxiv.). - - [223] I can find no confirmation of the statement that Roubiliac - modelled figures for Sprimont. Certain statuettes bearing an R. - impressed on the paste have been attributed to him. There is no - reference to any such work in the life of the artist by M. Le Roy de - St. Croix (Lyons, 1886). Roubiliac, who died in 1762, was already - in 1750 at the height of his reputation, and fully employed in more - important work. - - [224] Mr. Burton points out that it would be quite impossible to make - a translucent ware with the materials of the first patent. He doubts - also the use of bone-ash in the earlier porcelain of Bow, the paste - of which is distinctly of the Saint-Cloud type. I think, however, - that there can be little doubt but that the ‘virgin earth’ refers to - bone-ash, and the fragments from Bow in which this substance has been - found seem to be derived from an early ware. - - [225] Specimens from this find may be seen at the British Museum, - at South Kensington, and in the late Jermyn Street collection. - An interesting and detailed account of the fragments, which were - excavated and arranged by Mr. Higgins of the adjacent match-works, - will be found in Chaffers’s _Marks_, pp. 908 _seq._ - - [226] This difficulty of making the decoration keep pace with the - outturn of the kilns was felt at this time at other kilns--from - King-te-chen to Sèvres and Worcester. Recourse was more and more had - to the outside enameller--the ‘chamberer’--on the one hand, and to - transfer-printing on the other. - - [227] This document is exhibited at the British Museum by the side of - the punch-bowl. - - [228] These figures are probably exaggerated. Sprimont, a little - earlier, says that he was employing at Chelsea ‘at least one hundred - hands.’ - - [229] ‘Printed teas and mugs’ are mentioned in Bowcocke’s - memorandum-book in 1756. - - [230] See Nightingale’s _English Porcelain_, pp. li. _seq._, and - Bemrose’s _Bow, Chelsea, and Derby Porcelain_, pp. 153 _seq._ - - [231] The rococo vases, however, of this ware in the British Museum - seem to be of a somewhat later date, if we take Sprimont’s work at - Chelsea as a criterion. - - [232] These ‘Darby figars’ may possibly have been of earthenware. - There are some richly painted statuettes of this material at South - Kensington, though these indeed seem to be of a somewhat later date. - - [233] Mr. Bemrose, in his work on _Bow, Chelsea, and Derby Porcelain_, - gives photographic reproductions of several pages from Duesbury’s - work-book. - - [234] These details I take from the notes of a man who had formerly - practical experience of such work--Mr. Haslem, in his _Old Derby China - Factory_. - - [235] And yet the colours are sometimes brilliant and effective--for - example, on a large dish or tray of Spode ware at South Kensington - (see below, p. 373). This strange ‘breaking-down’ of the old Japanese - patterns may be compared to the scattered fragments of the original - Greek design that we see on the pre-Roman coins of Gaul and Britain. - - [236] It appears from a correspondence that has been preserved that - in 1791 the second Duesbury was looking out for royal support. ‘A - gentleman about the court’ whom he consulted recommended him to seek - the patronage of the Duke of Clarence, for, said he, ‘the duke is the - _only prince that pays the tradespeople_.’ At that time there was - great jealousy of the Worcester works, where the king had lately made - large purchases. - - [237] Why _Tonquin_, of all places? We should rather have expected to - find Nankin or Canton, as at Bow. - - [238] See the engraving in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for August 1752. - This was in the nature of a puff. In the corner we read ‘A sale of the - Manufacture will begin at the Worcester Music Meeting on September - 20th, with great variety of ware and, ’tis said, at a moderate price.’ - Edward Cave, the originator of the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, and ‘the - father of parliamentary reporting,’ was an important shareholder of - the Worcester works. - - [239] Steatite is essentially a silicate of magnesia. We have seen - that a soapy rock, probably of this nature, entered at times into the - composition of the porcelain made at King-te-chen. At a later time - silicate of magnesia, in various forms, has found its way into the - hybrid pastes of Italy and Spain. - - [240] These two buildings may be probably traced back to the Temple of - Vespasian, in the Forum, and to the Pyramid of Cestius respectively. - Hancock must have got his materials from French and Italian engravings - after Claude and Pannini. - - [241] Dr. Johnson was for a long time a close neighbour--his - well-known interest in the manufacture of porcelain must have brought - him into contact with the Baxter family. We find a Baxter mentioned in - Bowcocke’s notes as early as 1751. See Chaffers, p. 896. - - [242] The teapot in the Schreiber collection with the mark ‘Allen, - Lowestoft,’ must be regarded as a _supercherie_. The painting on it - of a crucifixion is evidently by a Chinese hand. This teapot has, - however, been connected with an Allen of Lowestoft, a porcelain - enameller and amateur glass-stainer. - - [243] Some recent discoveries of moulds make it, however, probable - that the early wares of Worcester and Bow were imitated at Lowestoft. - - [244] We are told that the first three of these substances are _to be - fritted together_, but this would be manifestly impossible. The recipe - is curious as being an anticipation of the materials used by Spode - thirty years later. But we must receive most of these recipes that - have thus come down to us _cum grano_. - - [245] This ‘soapy rock’ was at once identified with the steatite of - the Lizard. The other porcelain experts, from Worcester and from - Liverpool, who visited Cornwall about this time, seem to have devoted - their attention more especially to this substance. They were thus, to - some extent, on a false scent, for the Père D’Entrecolles probably - somewhat exaggerated the importance of this _Wha-she_, and, moreover, - as has been shown by later French investigation, most of the material - of soapy consistency employed at King-te-chen is no true steatite or - magnesian silicate, but rather a more fusible variety of the petuntse, - containing much mica. - - [246] Was Frye, the painter of Bow, who first made use of the American - earth, also a quaker? Cookworthy and Champion, it appears, first - became acquainted with one another through the medium of one of the - Bristol Frys, and it is known that moulds and patterns from Bow were - used at Plymouth. It is at least remarkable that we should be indebted - for our knowledge of the constitution of Chinese porcelain, in the - first place, to a Jesuit father, and then to a member of the Society - of Friends; while, on the other hand, Böttger--like Cookworthy, a - druggist--was an adept in the dark arts. - - [247] Besides the factory mentioned in this letter, we hear from the - diary of Dr. Pococke that as early as 1750 a white ware with reliefs - was made at the ‘Lowris China house’ with ‘soapy-rock from Lizard - Point.’ A sauce-boat marked ‘Bristoll’ is referred to these works in - the _Guide to English Pottery in the British Museum_, p. 109. - - [248] Lauraguais (Comte de), Duc de Brancas, born 1733; died 1824. - - [249] See p. 306. At Strawberry Hill was ‘Michael Angelo’s Bacchus, - made in the china of the Comte de Lauraguais, from the collection of - the Comte de Caylus’ (Walpole’s _Works_, ii. 405 _seq._). - - [250] By Champion, at least, at a later time. The cross swords have - in some cases been subsequently obliterated (PL. E. 84). Mr. Owen - thinks that this was in consequence of a quarrel with the custom-house - authorities in 1775. - - [251] And for tin also. The mark was adopted, no doubt, in honour - of the ‘premier’ product of Cornwall. It would, however, be more in - place on a ware with an opaque tin glaze, such as the soft paste of - Chantilly. - - [252] So at Sèvres during the greater part of the last century the - glaze has consisted of pegmatite, a very similar material to the - Cornish growan-stone. The inconveniences of such a glaze have been - pointed out by Vogt and others. - - [253] Of another workman employed by Champion, one Anthony Amatt, Mr. - Hugh Owen gives some particulars. At one time, attempting to cross - the Channel and find employment in France, he was arrested--at the - instigation, it is said, of Wedgwood--and confined for some time as a - State prisoner. Amatt died in 1851 at the age of ninety-two. Wedgwood - was very active in preventing the emigration of English potters, who, - he declared, were lured from their country by French and German agents - (Meteyard’s _Wedgwood_, ii. p. 475). - - [254] There are also in existence some examples of undoubted Bristol - hard-paste porcelain, covered with a soft lead glaze. - - [255] The porcelain made by Count Lauraguais, to judge by the analysis - given above, must have contained even more kaolin than the Bristol - ware. - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Porcelain, by Edward Dillon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PORCELAIN *** - -***** This file should be named 55118-0.txt or 55118-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/1/1/55118/ - -Produced by Sonya Schermann, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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